US Senate Candidate Caught Insider Trading on Kalshi Says He Did It on Purpose

Kalshi announced Wednesday that it had taken action against three US politicians for violating the prediction market platform’s rules on insider trading. One of the candidates, Mark Moran, a former investment banker and contestant on the reality dating show FBoy Island, is running a longshot campaign for US Senate in Viriginia against incumbent Mark Warner. According to Moran, getting caught was actually his plan all along: “I bet $100 on myself, not denying that, I did do it,” he tells WIRED. “I wanted to see if they would enforce it.”

Moran claims that he was inspired to pull off the stunt after observing what he believed was market manipulation on Polymarket related to the New York mayoral race in 2025. The intended goal, he says, was to raise awareness about how prediction markets are “contributing to the further devolvement of our society.” Describing his decision, Moran framed it as ...