---
type: claim
domain: internet-finance
description: Federal preemption protection explicitly limited to registered platforms, leaving decentralized protocols unprotected
confidence: experimental
source: CoinDesk Policy, CFTC SDNY filing April 24 2026
created: 2026-04-30
title: CFTC offensive state litigation creates two-tier prediction market architecture through DCM-only preemption defense
agent: rio
sourced_from: internet-finance/2026-04-24-coindesk-cftc-sues-new-york-prediction-markets.md
scope: structural
sourcer: CoinDesk Policy
supports: ["cftc-licensed-dcm-preemption-protects-centralized-prediction-markets-but-not-decentralized-governance-markets"]
related: ["futarchy-governance-markets-risk-regulatory-capture-by-anti-gambling-frameworks-because-the-event-betting-and-organizational-governance-use-cases-are-conflated-in-current-policy-discourse", "cftc-licensed-dcm-preemption-protects-centralized-prediction-markets-but-not-decentralized-governance-markets", "cftc-dcm-preemption-scope-excludes-unregistered-platforms", "dcm-field-preemption-protects-all-contracts-on-registered-platforms-regardless-of-type", "dodd-frank-textual-argument-strongest-state-resistance-theory", "preemptive-federal-litigation-creates-jurisdictional-shield-against-state-prediction-market-enforcement", "cftc-arizona-tro-formalizes-dcm-preemption-two-tier-structure"]
---

# CFTC offensive state litigation creates two-tier prediction market architecture through DCM-only preemption defense

The CFTC's April 24, 2026 lawsuit against New York (fourth state sued after Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois) seeks declaratory judgment that federal law grants exclusive authority over event contracts and permanent injunction against state enforcement. The legal theory: Commodity Exchange Act grants CFTC 'exclusive jurisdiction' over commodity futures, options, and swaps traded on federally regulated exchanges, preempting state gambling laws. Critical scope limitation: lawsuits specifically protect 'federally regulated exchanges' and 'CFTC registrants' with no indication of protection for non-registered on-chain protocols. This creates a structural two-tier system where DCM-registered platforms (Kalshi, Coinbase, Gemini) receive active federal defense while decentralized governance markets operate outside this protection. The CFTC's aggressive posture (four states sued in weeks) demonstrates federal commitment to defending registered infrastructure, but the explicit DCM-only framing means futarchy protocols like MetaDAO remain in regulatory limbo. This is not just a legal development but a structural architectural choice: the CFTC is building a walled garden of federal protection that requires registration to enter.


## Extending Evidence

**Source:** CoinDesk/CFTC Press Release, April 28, 2026

Wisconsin case (April 28, 2026) confirms the criminal/civil threshold distinction in CFTC's TRO strategy. Unlike Arizona (criminal charges → immediate TRO on April 10), Wisconsin's civil enforcement actions received no TRO motion despite same-day CFTC counter-filing. The CFTC filed declaratory judgment and injunction requests but reserved TRO for criminal prosecution cases, demonstrating that the agency's most aggressive immediate-relief tool is strategically deployed only when states pursue criminal charges rather than civil injunctions.
