The Hound | Aug. 20

Hi there,

It’s Thursday. Donald Trump Jr. joined Kalshi as a paid strategic advisor in January 2025, then joined Polymarket's advisory board in August 2025 after his venture firm made a strategic investment in the platform. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has used the full weight of the federal government to protect both companies. And the CFTC's new "Innovation Advisory Committee," tasked with drafting regulations for crypto and prediction markets, includes the CEOs of Polymarket and Kalshi themselves. This is the regulated writing the regulations that govern them — with the president's son on their payroll.

🖊️ Sign the petition to call on the media to cover Trump's prediction market and crypto regulatory agenda not as tech policy, but as a corruption story — one that asks who profits from each regulatory decision and why the answer keeps being the same family.

This conflict sits on top of Trump's broader crypto empire, which netted him over $1.2 billion in his first year back in office through World Liberty Financial tokens and memecoin royalties. The pattern is the same every time: Trump family financial interests appear, federal regulators stand down, and the industry booms. The public deserves reporting that connects the money to the policy every single time.

In addition, Florida State Rep. Angie Nixon, who was outspent 36:1 by Alexander Vindman, the key witness in Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, triumphed in the Florida Democratic Senate primary, winning by 13 points. And ProPublica takes a look at the $1 trillion black box of Pentagon spending.

Read about these, and more, with today’s stories:

Trump’s White House Business Shindig Will Be a Cesspool of Financial Conflicts (Mother Jones)

The Legal War Over Prediction Markets Is Getting Crazier (The New Republic)

Angie Nixon notches an upset victory in Florida’s Democratic Senate primary (The 19th News)

The $1 Trillion Black Box (ProPublica)

Proposed Data Centers Could Use More Electricity Than All Alabama Homes Combined, Analysis Shows. Who Will Pay? (Inside Climate News)

Proponents of Solitary Confinement Attempt to Stifle Reform (The American Prospect)

Until next time,

Harry from The Hound

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