Kalci fined MrBeast’s editor for insider trading in the markets related to the YouTube star

Editor for the most popular YouTube creators, MrBeastThe prediction market accused him of being the same Insider trading On the platform.

After investigation, everything He said It “found reasonable cause” to believe that this editor, Artem Kaptur, used non-public inside information about MrBeast’s videos to inform his bet on matters related to MrBeast’s YouTube channel.

Prediction markets like Kalshi and competitor Polymarket allow users to place bets on a wide range of future events, such as who will win a political election, how many albums a particular musician will sell in a week, or when a sequel to a popular film will be announced.

Kalci did not reveal the specific bets Kaptur placed on MrBeast, but some markets on the platform allow users to bet on it. What words will the Creator say? During an upcoming video – private information that the video editor can influence. Kalshi users can also trade on when MrBeast will get married, or when his company Beast Industries will get married Announces the public offering.

A spokesperson for Beast Industries told TechCrunch that the company does not tolerate this behavior, and that this attitude extends to company employees, as well as contestants on MrBeast’s Amazon Prime show “Beast Games.” Contestants are also made aware that their knowledge of confidential information prevents them from participating in the relevant prediction markets.

“With regard to this particular matter, we have already begun an independent investigation as part of our ongoing comprehensive efforts to ensure the integrity of our workplace and trust with our global audiences,” the spokesperson told TechCrunch. “We welcome Calci – and hope that others in the field – will take this issue seriously as well, but it will only work if they are willing to communicate their findings, so we hope they will be more open to it in the future.”

Kalci says Kaptur traded for about $4,000 on YouTube’s streaming markets in August and September 2025. He made a profit of $5,397.58, prompting Kalci to fine him that amount, as well as a $15,000 fine. Calcicaptor was also banned for two years. The company said in Blog post It will donate the fine to a non-profit consumer education organization.

Kalshi was also fined Kyle Langforda candidate for political office in California, traded about $200 for his candidacy, then posted about it on social media.

The markets on platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket are so vast that it is difficult to ensure that users who trade on them are not using private knowledge to their advantage, which is against the rules. When it comes to securities such as stocks, similar behavior is punishable by up to 20 years In federal prison.

The possibility of manipulating these markets has drawn attention among US lawmakers.

Last month, one Polymarket user got suspicious The bet is $32,000 That Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro would be removed from power by the end of January — and just hours later, Maduro was arrested by the US military, and that user was awarded $400,000 in compensation.

In response, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) proposed. legislation This would make it illegal for government employees to trade in prediction markets related to government policy, government actions, or political outcomes.

CEO of Kalshi Company, Tariq Mansour he said in a post on LinkedIn Last month, he supported the bill, because Calci already adheres to the rules it would impose. He claimed that the alleged insider trading instances do not occur on US-based platforms (both Kalshi and Polymarket are based in the US).

“This US bill applies only to regulated US companies, not to unregulated non-US companies, which is where the alleged problems occur,” Mansour wrote. “Prediction markets, like any industry, are not a monolith: there are important differences that matter.”

Updated 2/25/25 at 3:45pm ET with comment from Beast Industries.