US soldier indicted for $400,000 Polymarket insider trading over Maduro’s removal

A U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was charged Thursday with using classified military intelligence information Trade in Polymarket Around the time Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was impeached in January, marking the first major case of alleged insider trading in cryptocurrency prediction markets using US government secrets.

Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, allegedly accessed classified information about Operation Absolute Resolution — a military operation targeting Maduro — and placed 13 bets on outcomes related to Venezuela between Dec. 26, 2025, and Jan. 2, 2026, according to court documents.

US Special Forces arrested Maduro and his wife at his residence in Caracas during the predawn hours of January 3. Hours later, the president announced the success of the operation. Van Dyke’s bets, totaling $33,034 from the initial investment, yielded profits of $409,881.

Gains It made headlines in JanuaryAlthough it was not initially clear who made the bets. However, the huge success raised suspicions about insider trading.

Three days after the operation was announced, Van Dijk contacted Polymarket to request that his account be deleted, falsely claiming that he had lost access to the associated email address, as the file itself shows. Federal prosecutors stressed that traditional insider trading laws apply to decentralized prediction markets.

“Prediction markets are not a haven for the use of confidential or misappropriated information for personal gain,” US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement. “The defendant allegedly violated the trust placed in him by the United States government by using classified information about a sensitive military operation to bet on the timing and outcome of that particular operation, all for profit.”

“This is clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law. Those charged with protecting our nation’s secrets have a duty to protect them and our armed service members, and not to use that information for personal financial gain. Our office will continue to hold accountable those who misuse classified or classified information in a way that undermines and exploits our national security.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche noted that enforcement will adapt to emerging cryptocurrency platforms. “Widespread access to prediction markets is a relatively new phenomenon, but federal laws protecting national security information are fully applicable,” Blanche said.

Van Dyke faces five federal charges, including three counts of violating the Commodity Exchange Act, wire fraud, and theft of non-public government information. The merchandise violations each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, while the wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, according to the Department of Justice.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission She filed her own complaint Thursday next to the Ministry of Justice.

Michael S. said: “I have been absolutely clear that anyone who engages in fraud, manipulation, or insider trading in any of our markets will face the full force of the law,” Selig, the head of the CFTC, said in a statement. “The defendant was entrusted with classified information about U.S. operations and yet took actions that jeopardized U.S. national security and endangered the lives of U.S. service members.”