U.S. Army Green Beret Arrested Over Alleged Polymarket Insider Trading

Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a U.S. Army Special Forces master sergeant, is accused of using classified information gained while planning and carrying out Operation Absolute Resolve to trade event contracts on blockchain-based Polymarket. The case is the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s first insider-trading action involving event contracts and its first use of the “Eddie Murphy Rule” against misuse of government information. Its outcome could help determine whether such contracts qualify as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act, shaping federal oversight of fast-growing prediction markets.

U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. in Manhattan on Aug. 10 allowed the Justice Department to intervene and stayed the CFTC’s civil case, filed April 23, until the parallel criminal proceeding ends. The regulator alleges Van Dyke bought more than 436,000 “Yes” shares between Dec. 30, 2025, and Jan. 2, 2026, spending about $33,000 and generating more than $404,000 in profit on contracts tied to Nicolás Maduro’s removal. Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to five criminal counts, including commodities fraud and wire fraud.

Polymarket lets users trade on event outcomes using crypto assets. Military operations involve undisclosed national security information, and advance bets by people with inside knowledge could undermine market integrity and operational secrecy. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission warned on February 25, 2026, that trading event contracts using material nonpublic information may be illegal.

Before the United States struck Iran on February 28, 2026, six newly created accounts correctly bet that an attack would occur by the end of February, earning more than $1.2 million in combined profits. The contract drew nearly $90 million in trading volume, while related markets amassed more than $529 million. On May 18, Bubblemaps also said nine linked accounts had won 98% of more than 80 military-related bets, generating $2.4 million in total profits. The conflict also pushed Bitcoin lower and Hyperliquid oil futures higher.