House Oversight targets Hyperliquid, Crypto.com and PredictIt in insider trading probe

What happened

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer widened his insider trading investigation into prediction markets by sending document requests to Hyperliquid Labs, Crypto.com and Aristotle Exchange Inc., the company that owns PredictIt. The letters went to each company's CEO.

The letters ask how the platforms verify users and what systems they have to catch and report trades that may rest on nonpublic information. Comer said in a statement that the committee is checking whether the platforms meet their legal obligations and do enough to stop insider trading before it happens.

In his letter to Hyperliquid CEO Jeff Yan, Comer cited reports of a substantial leveraged short position placed within minutes of a presidential announcement about U.S. tariff policy in October 2025 that was not public when the position was opened. Comer described the trade as precisely timed to a nonpublic government decision and wrote that the platform appeared to have no identity verification or mechanism to refer the responsible party to U.S. law enforcement.

On Oct. 10, 2025, a trader who shorted Hyperliquid made about $192 million after President Donald Trump announced 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, which set off speculation about advance knowledge. Former BitForex CEO Garrett Jin, whom a pseudonymous onchain sleuth linked to the position, denied any ties to Trump or insider trading.

Why it matters

The inquiry widens scrutiny of how prediction platforms police trades that may rest on nonpublic information. Comer said online prediction platforms are becoming more mainstream and that some bad actors have exploited them to make thousands of dollars by betting on nonpublic information.

Comer opened the probe on May 22 with letters to Kalshi and Polymarket. Those inquiries are still active, and the two companies have provided the committee with nearly 1,000 documents and five briefings, a committee spokesperson told CNBC. A New York Times investigation cited by Comer found more than 80 Polymarket users had placed suspiciously timed bets.

What the data shows

• Comer's letter tied the flagged Hyperliquid short to a presidential announcement on U.S. tariff policy in October 2025. The trade on Oct. 10, 2025 produced about $192 million.
• A New York Times investigation found more than 80 Polymarket users placed suspiciously timed bets, including wagers hours before U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.
• Kalshi and Polymarket have provided the committee with nearly 1,000 documents and five briefings, a committee spokesperson told CNBC.

Background

• Hyperliquid launched its own event contracts in May through its HIP-4 upgrade and later extended them to offchain events such as inflation data and Federal Reserve decisions.
• Garrett Jin, the former BitForex CEO linked to the flagged position by a pseudonymous onchain sleuth, denied any ties to Trump or insider trading.

What is still unclear

• The reports do not say whether the committee has identified the person behind the flagged Hyperliquid trade or what it will do with the documents it receives.
• NewsBTC reported that the probe was confirmed on Sept. 29, 2026, but its report adds no new details about the document requests.

Questions readers ask