US Soldier Charged for Alleged $400K Polymarket Insider Trading on Maduro Removal

In brief

• U.S. Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke was charged with five federal crimes, including commodities fraud and unlawful use of classified information
• Van Dyke allegedly profited $409,881 from 13 Polymarket bets totaling $33,034 between December 26, 2025 and January 2, 2026.
• The bets involved classified intelligence about Operation Absolute Resolve targeting former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

A U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was charged Thursday with using classified military intelligence to trade on Polymarket around the January removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, marking the first major case of alleged insider trading on crypto prediction markets using U.S. government secrets.

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

U.S. special forces apprehended Maduro and his wife at a Caracas residence during predawn hours on January 3. Hours later, the President announced the successful operation. Van Dyke's bets, which totaled $33,034 in initial investment, generated profits of $409,881.

The gains grabbed headlines in January, though it was not initially clear who had made the bets. However, the outsized success raised suspicions of insider trading.

Three days after the operation's announcement, Van Dyke contacted Polymarket requesting deletion of his account, falsely claiming he had lost access to the associated email address, the same filing shows. Federal prosecutors emphasized that traditional insider trading laws apply to decentralized prediction markets.

“Prediction markets are not a haven for using misappropriated confidential or classified information for personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, 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 place bets on the timing and outcome of that very operation, all to turn a profit.”

“That is clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law. Those entrusted to safeguard 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 confidential 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 crypto platforms. "Widespread access to prediction markets is a relatively new phenomenon, but federal laws protecting national security information fully apply," Blanche said.

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

The CFTC filed its own complaint Thursday alongside the Department of Justice.

“I have been crystal clear that anyone who engages in fraud, manipulation, or insider trading in any of our markets will face the full force of the law,” said CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig, in a statement.  “The defendant was entrusted with confidential information about U.S. operations and yet took action that endangered U.S. national security and put the lives of American service members in harm’s way.”

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