A popular prediction outcome platform closed multiple markets involving political activist Charlie Kirk after he was assassinated on Wednesday.
Key Takeaways
- Kalshi had been offering a market on Charlie Kirk running for political office by 2029.
- The prediction market platform voided all trades placed after news broke on Wednesday afternoon.
Kalshi, which allows users to purchase outcome contracts on various events, had been offering “Yes” and “No” predictions on Kirk running for political office by 2029, but the market was no longer available on Thursday.
Other markets that were previously offered before the shooting included whether Kirk would debate white nationalist Nick Fuentes, and how many episodes of the TV show “South Park” Kirk would be featured on through the character Eric Cartman, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Voiding late trades
Kalshi said in a forum message on Wednesday that “we are deeply saddened by today’s tragic news about Charlie Kirk,” the report said.
Reports that Kirk was shot and killed by an unknown gunman during an event at Utah Valley University came out around 2:20 p.m. Kalshi said any trading after that time will be voided.
The gunman is still at large.
Federal restriction
Kalshi, which is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, gained popularity during the 2024 Presidential Election after winning a court order to offer prediction markets. The company has branched out to numerous categories beyond politics, including sports, weather, economics, culture, and more.
Federal law prohibits Kalshi and other U.S.-regulated prediction platforms from offering assassination or war prediction markets. Polymarket, which isn’t currently allowed to operate in America, reportedly shut down its market on whether or not there will be a U.S. civil war in 2025.
