House Oversight widens prediction-market insider trading probe to Hyperliquid, Crypto.com, PredictIt
House Oversight Chair James Comer sent document requests to Hyperliquid Labs, Crypto.com and Aristotle Exchange, which owns PredictIt, over identity checks and a pre-tariff short.
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Why it matters
The requests put three platforms that had not previously been drawn into the inquiry under the same document demands that Kalshi and Polymarket have already answered, and Bitcoin.com News reports those two handed over nearly 1,000 documents and five briefings. The unresolved part is whether a platform with, in Unchained's words, apparently no identity verification or mechanism to refer traders can be compelled to identify the account behind the pre-announcement short.
Where the sources disagree
Size and timing of the Hyperliquid short position
$1.1 billion short, more than $150 million profit, Tuesday letters
Bitcoin.com News
large leveraged short opened shortly before the October 2025 tariff announcement, no figure given
Bankless
substantial leveraged short opened within minutes of the announcement, no figure given
Unchained
Only Bitcoin.com News gives figures of $1.1 billion and more than $150 million in profit, while Bankless and Unchained describe the position without a number and differ on the timing, with Bankless saying shortly before the announcement and Unchained saying within minutes.
Originator of the report that triggered the other outlets
CNBC first reported the letters
Unchained
no originating outlet named
Bankless, The Defiant, Bitcoin.com News
Unchained attributes the document requests to CNBC, while Bankless, The Defiant and Bitcoin.com News present the letters as their own reporting without naming an originating outlet.
Key facts
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer sent document requests to Hyperliquid Labs, Crypto.com and Aristotle Exchange, the company that owns PredictIt.
Reported by Bankless
The letters ask how each platform verifies user identity and what systems it uses to catch and report trades resting on nonpublic information, with records due by Oct. 13.
Reported by Bankless
The action expands an investigation Comer opened in May into Kalshi and Polymarket.
Reported by Bankless
Comer cited a leveraged short position on Hyperliquid opened within minutes of an October 2025 presidential tariff announcement that was not publicly known when the position was established, and Bitcoin.com News reports the position at $1.1 billion with more than $150 million in profit.
1,100,000,000 USDDisputed figureReported by Unchained
Comer questioned Hyperliquid's identity verification and its ability to identify traders for US law enforcement.
Reported by Bankless
Kalshi and Polymarket have provided Congress with nearly 1,000 documents and five briefings.
1,000 documentsReported by Bitcoin.com News
An Army soldier accused of using classified information to profit on Polymarket is cited as context for the inquiry, with Bankless reporting roughly $400K and Bitcoin.com News reporting more than $409,000 earned by a US Army master sergeant.
Disputed figureReported by Bankless
Comer said in a statement that the committee is investigating whether prediction platforms are meeting their legal obligations and doing enough to identify and prevent insider trading before it happens.
Reported by Unchained
What happened
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer sent document requests on Tuesday to Hyperliquid Labs, Crypto.com and Aristotle Exchange, which owns PredictIt, asking how each platform verifies its users and how it detects, investigates and prevents insider trading. Unchained, citing CNBC, reports that Comer wrote to each company's CEO and singled out a leveraged short position opened on Hyperliquid within minutes of an October 2025 presidential tariff announcement that was not public at the time, calling the trade 'precisely timed to a nonpublic government decision'. Bankless describes the same trade as a large leveraged short opened shortly before the October 2025 tariff announcement and says Comer also questioned whether Hyperliquid can identify traders for US law enforcement, while Bitcoin.com News puts the position at $1.1 billion with more than $150 million in profit and a response deadline of Oct. 13. The letters extend a probe Comer opened in May into Kalshi and Polymarket, which Bitcoin.com News says have supplied nearly 1,000 documents and five briefings. The Polymarket case cited as context differs by outlet: Bankless reports an Army soldier accused of using classified information to make roughly $400K, while Bitcoin.com News reports a US Army master sergeant made more than $409,000. No response from the three platforms appears in the evidence, and none of the reports establishes that the traders acted on nonpublic information; NewsBTC covered the probe without supplying figures or sourcing detail.
How the story developed
- First report
First report by Bankless
House Expands Probe Into Prediction-Market Insider Trading
- Update
Comer opens prediction-market insider trading probe into Kalshi and Polymarket
The May investigation covered the two exchanges and asked how they identify users and prevent insider trading.
- Update
Comer sends document requests to Hyperliquid Labs, Crypto.com and Aristotle Exchange
Letters went to each company's CEO on Tuesday, Sept. 29, seeking records on identity verification and suspicious-trading detection, due Oct. 13.
- Independent corroboration
Independently corroborated by Unchained
House Oversight Targets Hyperliquid, Crypto.com and PredictIt in Insider Trading Probe
- Update
CNBC reported the letters and the $150 million Hyperliquid trade allegation
Unchained credits CNBC, which carried Comer's statement that some bad actors have made thousands of dollars by betting on nonpublic information.
- Official statement
Official statement from Bitcoin.com News
Rep. Comer Targets 3 Platforms in Expanded Prediction Market Probe
- Update
Kalshi and Polymarket have produced nearly 1,000 documents and five briefings to Congress
Bitcoin.com News reports the volume of material the two exchanges have already supplied under the earlier probe.
How coverage built up
Independent sources over time, counted the way the consensus panel counts them: a republication of a wire story does not move the line.
- 29 Sept 2026, 14:37 UTC: Bankless — 1 independent source, 1 reports
- 29 Sept 2026, 15:28 UTC: Unchained — 2 independent sources, 2 reports
- 29 Sept 2026, 15:31 UTC: The Defiant — 3 independent sources, 3 reports
- 29 Sept 2026, 20:15 UTC: Bitcoin.com News, official — 4 independent sources, 4 reports
- 30 Sept 2026, 17:00 UTC: NewsBTC — 5 independent sources, 5 reports
Affected entities
Also mentioned: Ethereum, Federal Reserve, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Chainlink
Original sources
| Publisher | Report | Role | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin.com News Company, official | Rep. Comer Targets 3 Platforms in Expanded Prediction Market Probe | Independent | |
| Bankless Crypto media | House Expands Probe Into Prediction-Market Insider Trading | Original | |
| Unchained Crypto media | House Oversight Targets Hyperliquid, Crypto.com and PredictIt in Insider Trading Probe | Independent | |
| The Defiant Crypto media | House Oversight Expands Prediction-Market Probe to Hyperliquid | Independent | |
| NewsBTC Crypto media | House Oversight Chair Comer Probes Crypto.com, Hyperliquid & PredictIt Over Identity Checks | Independent |
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