A soldier from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, has been accused of leveraging classified military intelligence to execute trades on Polymarket related to the January ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. This case is noted as a significant instance of alleged insider trading within crypto prediction markets utilizing U.S. government secrets.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, is reported to have accessed sensitive information regarding Operation Absolute Resolve—an initiative targeting Maduro—and made 13 bets on outcomes related to Venezuela from December 26, 2025, to January 2, 2026, as per court records.
U.S. special forces detained Maduro and his spouse early on January 3 at a home in Caracas. Shortly thereafter, the President declared the operation’s success. Van Dyke’s bets, initially amounting to $33,034, yielded profits of $409,881.
This remarkable gain made headlines in January, though who had placed these bets remained unclear until suspicions of insider trading arose due to the substantial returns.
Three days post-operation announcement, Van Dyke requested Polymarket delete his account, falsely stating he lost access to its associated email. Prosecutors pointed out that traditional insider trading laws are applicable to decentralized prediction markets as well.
“Prediction markets should not be exploited for personal gain using misappropriated confidential or classified information,” stated U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “The accused allegedly breached the trust of his position by utilizing classified intelligence concerning a military operation he was privy to, aiming for financial profit.”
“This constitutes clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law,” Clayton emphasized. “Those responsible for protecting our nation’s secrets must uphold their duty not to exploit this information for personal enrichment. Our office will persist in holding accountable those who misuse such data to compromise national security.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche remarked that enforcement will evolve with emerging crypto platforms. “While access to prediction markets is a novel occurrence, federal laws safeguarding national security information remain fully applicable,” he noted.
Van Dyke faces five charges: three under the Commodity Exchange Act, wire fraud, and theft of nonpublic government data. The commodities violations each carry up to 10 years in prison, while the wire fraud charge could result in a maximum of 20 years, as per the Justice Department.
The CFTC filed its complaint on the same day as the Department of Justice. “Anyone engaging in fraud, manipulation, or insider trading within our markets will encounter severe legal consequences,” stated CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig. “The defendant exploited confidential information about U.S. operations, posing a risk to national security and American service members’ safety.”