TLDR
- Kalshi issued its first public disciplinary actions, fining a MrBeast editor and a former California governor candidate for insider trading
- Artem Kaptur, a MrBeast video editor, was fined $20,397 and suspended two years for trading on insider knowledge about the YouTuber’s content
- Former California gubernatorial candidate Kyle Langford was fined $2,246 and banned five years for betting on his own election
- Both cases were reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
- Kalshi has opened 200 insider trading investigations in the past year, with 12 still ongoing
Prediction market platform Kalshi has publicly named and fined two users for insider trading — the first time the company has disclosed disciplinary actions of this kind.
The two cases involve Artem Kaptur, a video editor for YouTube creator MrBeast, and Kyle Langford, a former Republican candidate in California’s governor race.
Kalshi says Kaptur traded around $4,000 on markets tied to MrBeast’s videos while working for the creator. The platform’s surveillance systems flagged him after users noticed his near-perfect trading record on low-odds markets, which investigators called statistically suspicious.
Kalshi concluded Kaptur likely had access to non-public information about the videos through his job. He was fined $20,397.58, which includes his profits and a $15,000 penalty, and was suspended from the platform for two years.
Beast Industries, the company that manages MrBeast’s business operations, said it has a policy banning employees from trading on prediction markets using company information. It said it has launched its own internal investigation into the matter.
“Beast Industries has no tolerance for this behavior, whether by contestants or our own employees,” a spokesperson said.
The second case involves Kyle Langford, who posted a video on X appearing to show him betting on his own win in the California governor’s race. He also encouraged his followers to do the same.
Under Kalshi’s rules, candidates cannot place bets on markets tied to their own elections. Kalshi described Langford as a “direct decision maker” for that contract.
Fines and Bans Issued
Langford was fined $2,246.36, including a $2,000 penalty, and banned from Kalshi for five years. In January 2026, he filed to run for a House seat, this time as a Democrat.
Both cases have been reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal regulator that oversees prediction markets. The CFTC said the MrBeast-related trades potentially violated federal laws against using confidential information to manipulate commodity markets.
Kalshi said neither trader withdrew their profits before their accounts were frozen. The company said all fines will be donated to a nonprofit focused on consumer education about derivatives markets.
Kalshi’s Growing Enforcement Effort
Bobby DeNault, Kalshi’s head of enforcement, said the platform has opened 200 investigations into potential insider trading over the past year. More than a dozen have been found to possibly violate Kalshi’s rules, and 12 remain ongoing.
“No system is perfect. No financial exchange is immune from bad actors,” DeNault wrote. “We’re committed to deterring and finding the bad actors, manipulators, and those who willingly cheat.”
Prediction markets have grown rapidly under the Trump administration, which dropped several federal investigations into the industry. There are now more than 200,000 active prediction markets, up from a few dozen per year under previous regulatory limits.
Insider trading concerns have also surfaced at rival platform Polymarket. In January, a trader made $400,000 betting on the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro before any public information was available. Israeli authorities also arrested several people suspected of using classified military information to place bets on Polymarket.
