Kalshi, an online prediction market, has suspended a video editor for YouTube creator MrBeast and a candidate for California governor over alleged insider trading violations. The platform flagged the trades as suspicious and reported them to regulators. Both individuals face suspensions and fines.
Kalshi announced the suspensions on February 25, 2026, providing details on two cases of alleged insider trading. The first involves Artem Kaptur, a video editor for MrBeast, who traded in markets related to YouTube and MrBeast specifically. His transactions were initially flagged due to near-perfect success on low-odds markets, which Kalshi described as statistically anomalous. Multiple users also reported the trades as suspicious. During the investigation, Kalshi determined that Kaptur, as an employee of MrBeast, likely had access to material non-public information connected to his trades.
Kaptur has been suspended from the platform for two years and fined an amount equal to five times his initial trade size, totaling over $20,000. Kalshi plans to donate the fine to a non-profit organization focused on consumer education about derivatives markets. The company also reported the matter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In response, Beast Industries, MrBeast's production company, stated it maintains a zero-tolerance policy for insider trading. "We have a longstanding policy in place against employees using proprietary company information in order to safeguard the highest standards and ethics throughout our organization," the company said.
In a separate case, Kalshi suspended a candidate for the 2026 California gubernatorial race after detecting activity in May. An online video appeared to show the candidate trading on markets related to his own candidacy. Kalshi immediately froze the account and investigated; the candidate was cooperative and acknowledged the violation of exchange rules. As with the first case, Kalshi reported the incident to authorities.
Prediction markets like Kalshi allow users to trade on various events, such as sports outcomes or television show results, classifying these as futures contracts under CFTC oversight rather than gambling. However, some states have challenged this, with Nevada suing Kalshi in February 2026 for operating a sports market without a permit.
