CFTC Sues Louisiana: US Session Roundup

CFTC Sues Louisiana: US Session Roundup

This is the Regulation & Policy US Session Roundup for November 14, 2026, covering 12:00 UTC to 23:59 UTC. Seven stories shaped the session: the lead is the CFTC and Department of Justice filing a federal lawsuit to void a Louisiana state court order that blocked prediction market platforms from operating in the state.

Key Takeaways

• The CFTC and DOJ sued Louisiana on November 13 to void a state TRO blocking Kalshi, Polymarket US, Robinhood, and Coinbase entities from serving state residents, making Louisiana the 12th state in the CFTC’s jurisdiction campaign.
• The White House nominated four people to fill vacancies at the SEC and CFTC on November 12, including two nominees who worked on the stalled CLARITY Act crypto market-structure bill.
• Coinbase’s national trust company received final OCC approval to begin operations, while Senate Democrats continued to press the OCC on crypto charter oversight.
• The US federal government holds approximately 306,790 BTC valued at roughly $20.48 billion under the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve policy established by a March 2025 executive order.
• JPMorgan’s Q3 2026 13F filing disclosed approximately $540 million in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and a 36% increase in its Strategy stake.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are reportedly divided over whether to add a Singapore-based firm to the Commerce Department’s entity list for alleged AI chip export control circumvention.
• A Bitcoin Policy Institute report proposed that the UK could use surplus Scottish wind power for bitcoin mining to reduce over £1 billion in annual curtailment costs.

CFTC and DOJ Challenge Louisiana’s Prediction Market Restraining Order

The CFTC and Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit against Louisiana on November 13, 2026, seeking to void a state court temporary restraining order that had blocked prediction market platforms from serving Louisiana residents, according to Crypto Briefing. The TRO was obtained the same day Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed suit against roughly 30 entities, including KalshiEX, Polymarket US, Robinhood, and Coinbase-affiliated entities. For related coverage, see CFTC Rulemaking: US Session Roundup.

The federal complaint asserts that the Commodity Exchange Act preempts state gambling laws when it comes to federally designated contract markets. The CFTC has now sued 12 states over prediction market jurisdiction, with the Louisiana action following a simultaneously filed Arkansas case under CFTC press release 9325-26. Context on this theme: SEC and CFTC Nominations: Asia Session Roundup.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig called Louisiana’s action “naked lawfare and a cynical political stunt.” AG Murrill responded that Selig’s characterizations were “flatly false.” A federal motion hearing is scheduled for November 17, with a state court hearing set for November 30. Readers following the broader prediction market jurisdiction fight may also want to review the earlier Binance.US and Blockchain.com CFTC prediction market approval filings for context on how platforms are navigating the patchwork of state challenges. More on this in Satoshi-Era Wallet Lawsuit: Regulation & Policy Asia Session Roundup.

Trump Nominates Four to SEC and CFTC, Ending Year-Long Vacancy Crisis

The White House sent four nominees to the Senate on November 12, 2026, as confirmed by the official White House nominations document: Kristin N. Johnson and Steven Levine for the SEC, and Nathan Anonick and Matthew Rowland for the CFTC. The SEC had been operating with only two of its five commissioner seats filled, while the CFTC had only its chair, according to Cryptopolitan.

Both CFTC nominees carry direct legislative history on the crypto market-structure bill known as the CLARITY Act. Anonick is Republican legislative counsel to Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman and worked on the agriculture portion of the Act. Rowland is a career CFTC lawyer who worked on both the CLARITY Act and an earlier 2024 crypto bill, Cryptopolitan reported. The CLARITY Act passed the House in July 2025 but failed a Senate cloture vote 49 to 50 on September 15, 2026, with Democrats voting unanimously against it. Background reading: CFTC Seeks Dismissal of CME Crypto Approval Lawsuit.

The term details from the White House document show Anonick replaces Rostin Behnam with a term running to June 19, 2031; Johnson replaces Caroline Crenshaw with a term to June 5, 2029; Levine replaces Hester Peirce with a term to June 5, 2030; and Rowland fills the remainder of Summer Mersinger’s term expiring April 13, 2028. The Senate Banking Committee scheduled a confirmation hearing for Johnson and Levine on November 19, 2026. For background on the nominations’ policy context, the SEC and CFTC nominations Asia Session Roundup covered the initial reaction.

Coinbase Receives Final OCC Trust Charter Approval Amid Senate Pushback

Coinbase’s national trust company received final OCC approval to begin operations, announced November 9, 2026, following preliminary conditional approval granted in April 2026, according to Bitcoinist. The approval marks the completion of the full national trust charter process for a major crypto firm.

Senator Elizabeth Warren challenged at least nine OCC crypto charter approvals via a May 18, 2026 letter, warning that companies were performing activities resembling those of full-service banks without equivalent safeguards, Bitcoinist reported. Senator Richard Blumenthal renewed document requests from Binance, Tether, and two Trump-linked ventures on November 5, 2026, with a January 4, 2027 compliance deadline. That deadline creates a near-term pressure point for OCC-chartered crypto firms operating under the new framework.

US Government Holds About $20.57 Billion in Bitcoin and Ether Under Reserve Policy

The US federal government holds approximately 306,790 BTC valued at roughly $20.48 billion and approximately 17,432 ETH valued at roughly $33 million, for a total crypto portfolio of about $20.57 billion across 623 labeled addresses, all acquired through criminal and civil forfeitures, according to Crypto Briefing citing Arkham Intelligence data. Crypto Briefing did not specify an Arkham observation time or holdings-date snapshot for these figures. About one-third of the BTC holdings, approximately 94,000 BTC, originated from the 2016 Bitfinex hack seizure, with additional significant amounts tracing to Silk Road.

A March 2025 executive order created the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, requiring forfeited BTC to be held indefinitely rather than auctioned, and established a separate US Digital Asset Stockpile for non-BTC assets. Crypto Briefing reported that approximately $1 billion in BTC was recently moved to Coinbase Prime custody addresses, consistent with custody management rather than sales. No confirmed BTC sales have occurred under the current reserve policy.

JPMorgan Lifts Strategy Stake 36% and Discloses $540 Million in BlackRock Bitcoin ETF

JPMorgan’s Q3 2026 13F filing revealed 11,408,930 shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust valued at approximately $539.98 million, plus roughly $5.76 million in Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust and roughly $3 million in Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, for total spot Bitcoin ETF holdings of approximately $549 million, according to KuCoin News. The bank also raised its Strategy stake by 36% to 848,932 shares, up from 624,387 shares at end of Q2.

The 13F also discloses $301 million in Coinbase shares. Separately, MSCI will remove Strategy from its US, World, and ACWI indices after the close on November 30, 2026, according to the same KuCoin filing report. JPMorgan’s SEC-mandated disclosure shows the largest US bank deepening Bitcoin exposure via regulated ETF instruments even as the broader crypto market remains under pressure.

Trump Administration Divided Over Nvidia AI Chip Export Controls

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged placing Singapore-based Megaspeed International on the Commerce Department’s entity list for allegedly circumventing US AI chip export controls, while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has not endorsed the action, according to Crypto Briefing. NVDA stock fell 2% to $163 on November 14, 2026 amid the reported dispute.

Prediction market odds of Lutnick departing by December 31, 2026 rose from 22% to 51.5% in one week, Crypto Briefing reported. The Bessent-Lutnick rift exposes a tension in US tech export policy at a time when the Commerce Department’s entity list decisions carry direct implications for semiconductor supply chains and AI infrastructure spending.

Bitcoin Policy Institute Proposes UK Use Surplus Scottish Wind Power for Bitcoin Mining

A Bitcoin Policy Institute report titled “Britain’s Biggest Opportunity” argues the UK pays over £1 billion, approximately $1.32 billion, annually to wind farms to curtail generation, and that bitcoin mining could absorb surplus Scottish wind power to reduce those costs, according to CoinDesk. Ten bitcoin mining companies surveyed by BPI curtail between 5% and 31% of their own energy use, the report found.

The FCA lifted its ban on retail crypto ETNs over a year ago, though April 2026 UK tax changes excluded crypto ETNs from Stocks & Shares ISAs, and roughly 40% of retail bank transfers to crypto exchanges are blocked or delayed, CoinDesk reported. The UK’s crypto regulatory regime is set to launch in October 2027, giving the BPI proposal a defined policy window in which regulators could act on the grid-balancing recommendation.

What to Watch Next

• November 17, 2026: Federal motion hearing in the CFTC and DOJ lawsuit against Louisiana over prediction market jurisdiction.
• November 19, 2026: Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing for SEC nominees Kristin N. Johnson and Steven Levine.
• November 30, 2026: State court hearing in Louisiana’s TRO action against prediction market platforms; MSCI removes Strategy from its US, World, and ACWI indices after market close.
• January 4, 2027: Senator Blumenthal’s compliance deadline for document requests to Binance, Tether, and two Trump-linked ventures on OCC crypto charter oversight.

This roundup summarizes reporting published from 12:00 UTC on November 14, 2026 to 23:59 UTC on November 14, 2026. Each item links to its original source.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.