A U.S. soldier has been charged with using the prediction market platform Polymarket to place bets based on insider information regarding the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The accused, 38-year-old Gannon Ken Van Dyke, allegedly profited $400,000 from the scheme.
According to court documents, Van Dyke, a member of the U.S. military, utilized non-public knowledge about a planned operation targeting Maduro. He placed bets on Polymarket, a decentralized prediction market that allows users to wager on the outcome of real-world events. The platform has been under scrutiny for potential manipulation and illegal use of inside information.
The charges against Van Dyke mark one of the first cases involving insider trading on a prediction market. Legal experts note that while Polymarket operates in a legal gray area, using non-public information to gain an advantage in betting is a violation of U.S. securities laws.
Van Dyke faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The case highlights the growing intersection of emerging financial technologies and national security concerns.