Comer presses Crypto.com, Hyperliquid and PredictIt on identity checks and suspicious trades

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer is expanding his investigation into trading on prediction market platforms, sending letters Tuesday to Crypto.com, Hyperliquid and PredictIt seeking records on how each verifies users and identifies suspicious activity.

The requests go beyond general policy disclosures. Comer asked the three firms to detail the tools they use to flag trades that may rest on nonpublic information, and to list any referrals they have made to regulators or law enforcement over the past two and a half years.

Company-specific questions

Each letter targeted different concerns. Crypto.com was asked whether employees of any of its affiliates traded on contracts involving corporate decisions they knew about before the information became public, citing examples such as token listings or custody decisions. The exchange was also asked for records on government officials who may have traded contracts tied to crypto regulations or to Crypto.com's own regulatory status.

The Hyperliquid letter centers on reports of a large leveraged short position placed ahead of a major U.S. announcement on tariffs last October. Comer sought details on how the platform identifies account holders and what protocols it follows when referring suspicious trades to U.S. authorities.

For PredictIt, a prediction market owned by Aristotle Exchange, the chairman requested information on trades linked to elections, nominations and other government actions involving current or former officials.

"As online prediction platforms grow and become more mainstream, some bad actors have exploited the platforms to make thousands of dollars by placing bets based on nonpublic information," Comer said in a statement.

The three companies did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.

The letters extend a probe Comer opened in May, when he sent similar requests to leading prediction market operators Kalshi and Polymarket. The committee said it has since received nearly 1,000 documents and several briefings from representatives of those two firms.

According to Comer, the aim of the campaign is to gauge the scale of insider trading on prediction markets and to inform possible legislation that would prohibit government officials from trading on such platforms.