A White House teleprompter operator has been placed on paid leave after allegedly earning more than $90,000 from Kalshi bets tied to words President Donald Trump would use in his speeches.

According to an ABC News report, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating Gabriel Perez over trades placed in Kalshi’s “mentions” markets, where users bet on whether Trump will use certain words or discuss specific topics during public appearances.

Perez has reportedly worked on Trump’s speeches since the 2016 presidential campaign, giving him direct access to prepared remarks before they were delivered. Sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News that the CFTC identified bets linked to Trump’s State of the Union address.

Over three months, Perez allegedly traded contracts connected to more than a dozen presidential appearances. ABC News reported that the events included a December prime-time address, Trump’s January speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos and his March remarks at a Medal of Honor ceremony.

Kalshi froze most of the disputed profits

Kalshi flagged the activity as suspicious, froze most of Perez’s reported gains and referred the matter to the CFTC, according to ABC News. The report said Perez has acknowledged some of the trades and is cooperating with the regulator’s inquiry.

Federal prosecutors, however, declined to open a criminal investigation into the betting activity, ABC News reported. The CFTC’s review remains focused on whether Perez used nonpublic information while trading event contracts on the regulated prediction market.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the investigation during a press briefing and said President Trump knew about the case. Describing the president’s reaction, Leavitt said he “believes it’s deeply unfortunate and, frankly, a disgrace.”

Leavitt also confirmed that Perez had been placed on paid administrative leave while cooperating with the CFTC. According to the press secretary, another operator would handle the teleprompter for Trump’s scheduled address that evening.

Prediction markets have faced another case involving alleged access to restricted government information. In April, the Department of Justice charged a U.S. soldier with using classified material to trade Polymarket contracts linked to the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Political posts are gaining value as trading data

Trump’s scheduled remarks already had mentions of markets available, including contracts linked to whether he would reference China. Leavitt said the address would cover the administration’s findings on alleged foreign interference in the 2020 election, adding that Trump’s statements would be supported by evidence.

The investigation has emerged as political statements become a paid source of market data. As previously reported by crypto.news, Trump Media & Technology Group has introduced the Truth API, a licensed service that will send real-time Truth Social posts from high-ranking accounts to financial firms, data providers and news organizations.

Trump Media said subscribers would receive immediate access to public posts that could contain time-sensitive political, policy or market information. Interim CEO Kevin McGurn described the product as an alternative to unauthorized data scraping and said trading firms could use it to monitor influential accounts.

“Markets already move on Truth Social posts,” McGurn said.

While Trump Media expects the API to produce recurring revenue, the Perez investigation concerns a separate issue: whether someone with advance access to presidential remarks used that information to profit from Kalshi contracts.

Tokenization platform Tradable plans to bring up to $1 billion in private credit assets onto the Stellar blockchain, expanding institutional access to tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) as demand for onchain private markets continues to grow.

Tradable said Thursday that $500 million in notional value is expected to be available when the initiative launches, and it will increase the amount to $1 billion over time. The company will use Stellar’s network to support institutional functions, including compliance, investor onboarding and asset lifecycle management.

The timing of the initiative’s launch was not disclosed.

Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon said the agreement reflects growing institutional interest in using the network for tokenized real-world assets.

The move builds on Tradable’s existing business. The company said it has already tokenized $1.7 billion in private credit assets across nearly 30 institutional-grade private credit positions, with the Stellar integration expanding the availability of those assets.

Stellar, one of the oldest public blockchains, has increasingly focused on tokenized real-world assets. The strategy has attracted institutional partners, including the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, which plans to connect its tokenization service to the network.

The developments reflect broader momentum in the tokenized RWA market, where institutional adoption has helped drive the sector’s value above $34 billion, according to RWA.xyz.

The tokenized RWA market has expanded rapidly since early 2025. Source: RWA.xyz

Related: DTCC to use Chainlink to power 24/7 collateral management network

Private credit dominates the tokenized RWA market

Private credit has emerged as the largest segment of the tokenized RWA market, accounting for roughly 44% of the sector’s value, according to Bernstein analysts.

The segment has grown as financial institutions increasingly use blockchain technology to originate, service and settle private loans more efficiently. In a research note published in May, Bernstein cited Figure Technology Solutions as a key driver of that expansion, pointing to the company’s blockchain-based lending platform and loan settlement infrastructure.

Token Terminal recently highlighted the role of private credit in fueling the tokenization boom, attributing the expansion to the continued migration of traditional financial assets onto blockchain infrastructure.

Related: Securitize, Cantor target tokenized IPOs for public markets

President Donald Trump has promoted more than 20 companies, including Nvidia, Tesla and Apple, within days of purchasing their shares, according to a CNN investigation.

CNN found that several Truth Social posts announced or praised government actions that could benefit companies held in Trump’s investment accounts. The report has renewed questions about whether his financial interests conflict with decisions made by his administration.

Among the cases examined, CNN pointed to a 2025 post in which Trump announced that his administration would speed up the permits needed by Nvidia and similar companies to build artificial intelligence supercomputers in the United States.

Financial records reviewed by CNN showed that Trump had purchased between $200,000 and $500,000 worth of Nvidia shares several days before publishing the post. The investigation also linked the timing of his purchases to later public comments involving Tesla, Apple and other major companies.

CNN did not report evidence that Trump personally ordered the trades or made the related government decisions to raise the value of his holdings. However, the outlet reported that Trump has not placed his assets in a blind trust, leaving open the possibility that he could know what his investment managers are buying or selling.

White House denies Trump controls the trades

Responding to the report, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said Trump does not manage the accounts involved in the transactions. According to Kelly, his assets are “held in fully discretionary accounts managed by independent third-party financial institutions.”

Trump has also previously said that professional fund managers control his investments, according to an earlier crypto.news report. His defense separates the timing of the trades from his own actions, although CNN noted that the arrangement does not meet the requirements of a blind trust.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro criticized the transactions after CNN published its findings. Writing on X, the Democratic lawmaker described the situation as: “Profits for him and his billionaire friends, higher prices for you.”

Neither the White House response cited by CNN nor Trump’s earlier comments addressed every company identified by the investigation. CNN also reported no finding that the trades broke federal securities law.

Stock scrutiny adds pressure to CLARITY talks

Questions over Trump’s stock holdings have surfaced as lawmakers debate whether the CLARITY Act should restrict senior government officials from participating in the crypto industry. According to the report, an ethics provision remains a key point of disagreement in efforts to secure bipartisan support for the market structure bill.

Trump’s 2025 annual financial disclosure has added to the dispute by showing that he received as much as $1.4 billion from crypto-related activities. Critics in Congress have cited those earnings while calling for rules that would limit the president’s ability to profit from digital assets during his term.

When previously questioned about his crypto income, Trump denied knowing the amount he had earned, according to CNN. He also argued that receiving the income would not be illegal even if he knew about it.

The stock investigation is expected to follow Trump into his meeting with senators on the CLARITY Act. Lawmakers have yet to resolve whether the bill will include conflict-of-interest restrictions covering the president and other senior officials. 

Bitcoin spent the past week oscillating between two realities: on-chain and fund flow signals leaned toward accumulation, while broader sentiment indicators continued to reflect caution. The split is important for traders because it suggests markets are absorbing sell pressure without fully giving way—but it also raises the question of whether the move is durable or merely a pause before the next risk event.

On July 15, data from Hyblock indicated a $925 million net buying day for Bitcoin, supported by spot and futures cumulative volume delta—an order-flow metric that tracks the balance of buy versus sell activity. The same day also brought spot Bitcoin ETF inflows of $107.7 million, extending a short rebound after $181 million of net inflows on July 14.

Key takeaways

• Hyblock’s spot and futures cumulative volume delta showed a $925 million net buying day on July 15, helping absorb the post-CPI dip in both price and open interest.
• Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $107.7 million in net inflows on July 15, following a positive $181 million day on July 14.
• Funding rates cooled from the prior week’s 0.10%–0.22% range down to 0.048%, aligning with leverage unwinding rather than a fresh surge in risk-taking.
• The Fear & Greed Index remains around 26 (“Fear”) even after Bitcoin rebounded about 4.4% from its roughly $62,100 low, suggesting sentiment hasn’t caught up to flows.
• Despite improving microstructure signals, longer-term positioning signals still look mixed: ETF flows remain negative for the year and a cluster of long liquidations sits about 1.5% below the current price (around $63,200).

Order flow and ETF inflows point to steadier demand

The most concrete improvement came from trading activity rather than price alone. According to Hyblock, the $925 million net buying day on July 15 reflected order flow that “absorbed” the post-CPI pullback instead of letting it cascade into heavier selling. Notably, the data suggests that the pullback in open interest and price did not translate into a sharp shift toward net liquidation behavior—an important distinction for how markets interpret volatility.

The ETF side added confirmation. On July 15, spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively recorded $107.7 million in net inflows, which marked the second consecutive day of positive demand. That continuation follows $181 million in net inflows on July 14, indicating the recent uptick isn’t just a one-day anomaly.

Funding rates cool—suggesting deleveraging, not a late long squeeze

While spot and ETF flows improved, the derivatives market looked more like a “reset” than a breakout. Funding rates spent much of the week between 0.10% and 0.22% before falling sharply to 0.048%. At the same time, open interest declined by 3.4% from Tuesday’s peak.

Those two details matter because they often differentiate between two scenarios: (1) new leverage piling in, which can fuel trending moves, versus (2) existing leverage being reduced, which can stabilize price after a volatility event. In this case, Bitcoin was down only about 1.5% over the same stretch—so the combination of lower funding and falling open interest points to longs stepping back rather than capitulating into a meaningful downside trend.

The article’s implied interpretation is that traders are adjusting their exposure after Bitcoin reached local range highs near $65,000 to $66,000. If that’s correct, it frames the recent price action as consolidation: leverage comes off, but demand signals don’t fully disappear.

Sentiment remains in “Fear” despite a bounce

Even with improving flow-based indicators, broader sentiment has not fully turned. The Fear & Greed Index is reported near 26, still in “Fear,” despite Bitcoin bouncing roughly 4.4% off its recent low near $62,100. For some market participants, this mismatch between depressed sentiment and positive demand can be a favorable setup—particularly if flows hold while fear fails to convert into selling.

However, there is an alternate interpretation that keeps the caution justified: risk-off drivers may simply be present in the background. When macro headlines remain unresolved, sentiment can stay muted even while technical and liquidity conditions briefly improve.

Macro risk and positioning signals keep the picture uneven

The week’s fundamental backdrop included renewed geopolitical and rates-related pressure, according to the article’s summary: the US war in Iran resumed, oil prices moved above $85, and projections for a Fed rate hike by September 2026 stayed above 44%. Those ingredients can limit how confidently traders chase upside, even when crypto-specific inflows improve.

More importantly for market mechanics, the article notes that the improving signals do not amount to a confirmed trend change. Several positioning markers remain mixed:

• Funding is cooling toward neutral, but that often reflects reduced leverage rather than outright bullish acceleration.
• Spot ETF flows are still negative for the year, meaning the recent daily inflow streak is not yet a full reversal in broader institutional demand.
• A cluster of long liquidations sits roughly 1.5% below the current price, around $63,200. That kind of liquidation “gravity” can add volatility if price drifts lower, even when net order flow is relatively supportive.

Taken together, these details describe a market that may be stabilizing, but not one that has clearly escaped the risk environment. The key tension is that microstructure (order flow and ETF inflows) improved while sentiment and some longer-horizon positioning indicators have not.

For the days ahead, readers should watch whether ETF inflows can continue and whether funding remains near-neutral rather than re-accelerating—those signals would help confirm whether the current stabilization is building momentum or just reflecting a temporary deleveraging phase. At the same time, the nearby long liquidation level around $63,200 remains a specific area where volatility could reappear if macro pressure intensifies or the rebound loses traction.

Trump Media & Technology Group has unveiled a paid data service that will deliver real-time posts from Truth Social’s highest-ranking accounts to financial firms and news organizations.

According to Trump Media, the Truth API will provide licensed access to public posts that may carry time-sensitive political, policy, or market information. The company plans to offer the feed to trading firms, financial data providers, media outlets, and other businesses that monitor influential accounts.

Subscribers will receive what Trump Media described as “immediate, verified access” to posts published on the platform. Interim CEO Kevin McGurn presented the API as a licensed alternative to unauthorized data scraping, which companies often use to collect posts from social networks.

“Markets already move on Truth Social posts,” McGurn said.

Trump Media expects the service to generate recurring revenue outside its advertising and subscription businesses. Other social media companies already charge data providers and institutional clients for API access, which trading desks can use to monitor sentiment, policy announcements, and events affecting stocks, currencies, commodities, or digital assets.

Trump’s posts give the feed market value

President Donald Trump’s account had 12.9 million followers as of Thursday morning, making it the largest account on Truth Social. Trump regularly uses the platform to announce or discuss tariffs, foreign policy, government decisions, and other matters watched by financial markets.

Although Trump Media did not name the president in its API announcement, his posts remain among the platform’s most closely followed content. Financial firms and newsrooms monitor presidential statements because announcements involving trade or government policy can affect asset prices.

Trump’s family also remains financially connected to the company. SEC filings show that about 114 million Trump Media shares issued to the president were later moved into a revocable trust controlled by Donald Trump Jr. after Trump won the presidency.

Trump Media trades on Nasdaq under the ticker DJT. By licensing rapid access to posts from its most prominent accounts, the company is seeking to turn Truth Social’s role in political communication into a commercial data product.

Paid access raises conflict concerns

The service has also attracted criticism over the president’s connection to both Truth Social and Trump Media. According to CNBC, Democracy Defenders Fund ethics attorney Virginia Canter called the arrangement “a huge conflict of interest.”

Canter argued that Trump has a public duty to distribute presidential information widely, while the API gives paying customers faster access through a company tied to his family’s holdings. She also described Truth Social as the “de facto presidential press room.”

Questions about Trump’s platform activity had emerged before the API announcement. A CNN investigation reported that Trump promoted more than 20 companies on Truth Social after investments linked to those businesses appeared in his financial disclosures. The White House denied that the activity created conflicts of interest.

Trump’s 2025 financial disclosure also reported about $1.4 billion in crypto-related earnings, adding to scrutiny of his family’s business interests while his administration shapes digital asset policy. By selling licensed access to presidential posts, Trump Media is now placing those communications inside a data market already used by financial firms to identify trading signals.