A U.S. special forces soldier who was charged last week with insider trading for allegedly exploiting classified intelligence to win bets on Polymarket entered a not guilty plea at a New York federal court on Tuesday.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, an Army Master Sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, received his plea and was set free on $250,000 bond. He must surrender his passport and limit travel under the conditions of his release.
Prosecutors accuse Van Dyke of using insider knowledge from Operation Absolute Resolve to make at least 13 wagers amounting to about $33,034 between December 27, 2025, and January 2, 2026. His bets, which predicted U.S. military involvement in Venezuela and the ousting of President Nicolás Maduro, yielded profits of approximately $409,881 after the operation went ahead as anticipated on January 3.
It is alleged that he moved his earnings into a foreign cryptocurrency vault with interest capabilities before transferring them to a new brokerage account on January 16. Van Dyke reportedly requested Polymarket to delete his account three days post-operation, citing an inability to access his email—a claim contradicted by prior restrictions from rival platform Kalshi in late December 2025, as disclosed to Decrypt.
The indictment underscores a rigorous governmental stance against misuse of prediction markets.
“Prediction markets are not sanctuaries for exploiting confidential or classified information for personal profit,” stated U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton last Thursday. “He allegedly breached the trust placed in him by utilizing classified insights about a military operation to bet on its timing and outcome for financial gain.”
In Manhattan, Van Dyke was seen departing federal court after entering his not guilty plea.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche emphasized that laws safeguarding national security information extend to prediction markets, highlighting their increasing accessibility as a new challenge.
Following the indictment announcement, President Donald Trump commented last Thursday that he had never been particularly supportive of prediction markets, describing them as transforming “the whole world, unfortunately [into] somewhat of a casino.” However, he later clarified his remarks on Saturday when questioned by Decrypt about his critical comments.
“Well, I don’t know,” Trump responded. “I know some people that are very smart. They like it; they disagree.”