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In Today’s Edition:
**Headline:White House Loses Third Crypto LeadGlobal Legal Roundup****Case Study:**CFTC Draws Line Against Casinos
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HEADLINE
**State of play: **Patrick Witt’s exit as executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets leaves the White House without its chief Clarity Act negotiator just as the bill stalls in the Senate.
A White House official said Witt’s “detail has expired,” as he was a Department of Defense employee holding only a temporary post on the council.
The Clarity Act failed a Senate procedural vote last month after Democrats argued ethics provisions on Trump’s crypto wealth were unenforceable under Justice Department control.
The Senate draft also remains stuck on a bank versus crypto fight over how stablecoin rewards should be treated.
Witt follows David Sacks, who left in March after his 130 days as a special government employee ended, and deputy Harry Jung, who departed in July.
The White House has not named a successor, while the Blockchain Association and Solana Policy Institute credited Witt with keeping all sides at the negotiating table.
**What’s Next: **The White House must name a successor while Senate negotiators try to revive the Clarity Act after its failed procedural vote.
**Why it Matters: **Without a dedicated White House broker, the bank versus crypto stablecoin fight and the Trump ethics dispute lose their main mediator.
Our Take: When the main obstacle is the president’s own crypto wealth, no adviser could have closed the deal, so Witt’s exit mostly removes the pretense.
GLOBAL LEGAL ROUNDUP
🇺🇸
Crypto PACsreport$2.7M spending blitz on House races.🇺🇸
Patrick WittexitsWhite House crypto role as Clarity Act stalls.🇺🇸
CFTC’s new crypto frameworkcould face2028 election deadline.🇺🇸
CFTCaimedat separating prediction markets from casino gambling.🇺🇸
Kalshi CEOdefendsprediction markets amid insider trading concerns.🇺🇸
US federal judgedeniesjoint Gemini-CFTC bid to undo $5M settlement.
🇷🇺
Russiato bandirect peer-to-peer crypto trades starting July 2027.🇪🇺
EBAdesignatesCircle’s USDC as the EU’s first ‘significant’ e-money token.🇬🇧
UK High CourtrulesChinese law governs claims over $5B in seized bitcoin.🇹🇷
TurkeyconfirmsHex founder arrest, police seized $7.15M and six cold wallets.
🇰🇷
South Koreablocks27 crypto exchanges, including Bitmart and Kucoin.🇦🇺
Australia’s financial watchdogseeksstiffer rules for crypto exchanges.🇦🇺
Australiareleasesdraft bill to adopt OECD crypto tax reporting framework.
CASE STUDY
State of play: The CFTC is rewriting the definition of “swap” to claim prediction markets as federal territory while giving casino gambling back to the states, a carve-out that strengthens its preemption case before a likely Supreme Court showdown.
The first proposal would classify event contracts on sports, politics, culture, and weather as swaps under the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction.
An interim final rule codifies that sportsbook wagers and casino games fall outside the swap definition, and both measures carry 30-day comment windows.
States have sued Kalshi and Polymarket for illegal gambling, while the CFTC has countersued to defend its authority over event contracts.
The Sixth Circuit unanimously ruled Ohio and Tennessee can regulate Kalshi’s sports contracts, conflicting with an April Third Circuit decision favoring Kalshi in New Jersey.
State lawmakers have filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to settle whether federal or state authorities govern prediction markets.
Our Take: The CFTC is drawing a line by label, not substance, since a sports event contract on Kalshi and a sportsbook wager look nearly identical to the person placing the bet.
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