A US Army soldier has been charged with federal crimes after allegedly using classified intelligence to place bets on Polymarket tied to the removal of Nicolás Maduro, generating more than $400,000 in profit.
Federal prosecutors said Gannon Ken Van Dyke placed 13 wagers between late December 2025 and early January 2026, investing roughly $33,000 and earning $409,881 by betting on outcomes linked to a secret US military operation.
“Prediction markets are not a haven for using misappropriated confidential or classified information for personal gain,”
Said US Attorney Jay Clayton.
Authorities allege Van Dyke accessed classified details about “Operation Absolute Resolve”, a mission targeting Maduro, and used that information to make highly timed trades before the operation became public.
Prosecutors said the soldier later attempted to conceal his activity by transferring funds through cryptocurrency accounts and requesting deletion of his Polymarket account under false pretences.
Van Dyke faces five charges including commodities fraud, wire fraud, and theft of nonpublic government information, with potential prison sentences of up to 20 years for the most serious counts.
The case is believed to be the first major prosecution involving insider trading on prediction markets, highlighting growing regulatory scrutiny of crypto-based platforms handling real-world event speculation.