First Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) yesterday announced that its subsidiary, the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC), has extended its clearing hours to a 24×5 model, running from Sundays at 8:00 PM ET to Fridays at 8:00 PM ET to support overnight trading from […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff The Supreme Court issued a 6–3 ruling expanding presidential power to fire officials at most independent regulatory agencies, upholding President Trump’s removal of a Federal Trade Commission commissioner and shifting significant authority from Congress to the White House, Ann E. Marimow of The New York […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff Here is the lead-in to the Prediction Markets Report podcast, where I was interviewed by Matt Vegh: “In this episode, John Lothian joins Prediction Markets Report to share his perspective on prediction markets, the CFTC, and perpetuals. John is one of the most respected voices […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff Former SEC and CFTC chairman Gary Gensler will join “The New Normal” on June 24, 2026, to discuss the escalating national battle over prediction markets and federal power. The webinar will examine Gensler’s recent amicus brief arguing that Congress never intended Dodd-Frank to turn the […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is seeking public comment on the potential expansion of 24/7 trading and perpetual futures (“perps”) contracts in traditional energy derivatives, as it evaluates risks associated with growing use, particularly on offshore platforms that may attract leveraged retail participation. According to […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff A Wall Street Journal investigation found that the prediction market platform Polymarket ran a covert marketing campaign using staged betting videos, undisclosed paid influencers, and coordinated reposting networks to create the illusion that users could easily make money. The report, published by The Wall Street […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff John Lothian News is introducing a new section of the John Lothian Newsletter dedicated to “Novel Products,” highlighting areas such as prediction markets, perpetual futures, sports and gaming, and other cutting-edge products and listings as they emerge and gain traction. By giving these innovations their […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff Yesterday was a consequential day for CME Group, one of those days when the institution both closes a chapter and opens a new front simultaneously. The announcement that Terry Duffy will step down as chief executive officer on March 1, 2027, and hand the reins […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff The best friend of the Most Interesting Man in the World is stepping down as CEO of the CME Group. Terry Duffy, who entered the futures industry as a runner with best friend and fellow bartender Pat Kenny, will step down as the CEO of […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff FIA President and CEO Walt Lukken opened the 2026 FIA International Derivatives Expo in London by celebrating the conference’s return to the city and linking this year’s event to the World Cup, as well as highlighting the charitable “Kilt Challenge” and Three Peaks fundraiser led […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff My appearance on CoinDesk’s The Policy Protocol with Renato Mariotti and Rebecca Rettig can be heard HERE. If you must see my poor performance on video, you can watch it HERE on YouTube. The title of the episode, which also features Kalshi’s Udesh Jha, is […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff Gary Gensler was in the room where it happened, twice. As assistant secretary of the Treasury, he helped negotiate the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. As CFTC chairman, he led the agency’s implementation of Dodd-Frank, testifying before Congress 54 times on swap reform. As […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff I have a correction. The other guest on The Policy Protocol will not be Kalshi’s Sudhir Jain, but rather Kalshi Head of Exchange Analytics Udesh Jha. Also, if there is only one commissioner for an organization, you don’t have a commissioner, you have a “Commissar.” […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff Nasdaq is in the news today, launching the Nasdaq Economic Institute and the Nasdaq CME Cryptocurrency Index Futures and making a deal with FIA Tech for its Foreign Security Futures and 871(m) compliance analytics. Yesterday, Nasdaq launched the Nasdaq Economic Institute, a research platform designed […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff The CFTC is offering buyouts and early resignation packages to roughly 50 long-time employees (47 from a source of mine) even as it scraps plans for a new, smaller headquarters and instead extends its current lease for five years to accommodate as many as 100 […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff When PR maven Drew Mauck wrote “For Whom The Bell Tolls” for Other Voices in John Lothian News, I noted that I had initially recommended that he publish his commentary on LinkedIn instead of JLN. He cited the connection between LinkedIn Founder Reid Hoffman and […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff CME Group CEO Terry Duffy warned that newly approved perpetual futures contracts, particularly those tied to cryptocurrencies, pose significant risks by enabling excessive leverage and exposing inexperienced retail traders to potential losses, while offering limited usefulness for institutional investors. According to a Bloomberg story reported […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff The long-standing “pattern day trader” (PDT) rule, created in 2001 to limit risky, rapid trading after the dot-com crash, is being eliminated, allowing retail investors to trade stocks and options more freely without maintaining the $25,000 minimum balance previously required for frequent, same-day trades on […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff CBS News fired veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley on Tuesday after he publicly accused new Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of “murdering” the show and challenged incoming executive producer Nick Bilton’s qualifications at a staff meeting. Pelley — a 37-year network veteran — said that CBS […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff There is an interesting market structure, price discovery, index inclusion, and exchange rules video from the More Perfect Union newsroom, a video-first non-profit progressive media organization founded by Faiz Shakir in February of 2021. Shakir, a former senior advisor to Bernie Sanders, set the primary […]
Read articleFirst Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff We have upgraded the JLN Newsletter! You will notice there is now a table of contents just to the left of this note, listing our subsections. If you have an e-mail client that supports this, you can click on a section in the list and […]
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