U.S. Servicemember Made More Than $1M on Polymarket — Authorities Probe Possible Use of Inside Information

U.S. federal authorities are preparing potential new charges in cases involving the alleged use of inside information to trade on prediction markets. A U.S. servicemember and an employee of auditing firm KPMG are under investigation, The Wall Street Journal reported.

According to the newspaper, the servicemember made more than $1 million on Polymarket by trading on contracts tied to military strikes in Iran and Venezuela.

Investigators are examining whether he may have used nonpublic information obtained through his military duties.

The case is not the only investigation involving military personnel who traded contracts linked to the timing and outcome of military operations.

A second investigation involves a KPMG employee who placed trades on whether a company’s quarterly earnings would beat analysts’ expectations.

Authorities are looking into whether he may have used nonpublic financial information he had access to through his work.

The investigations involve federal prosecutors in Manhattan and Washington, as well as the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Charges could be filed this fall, although no final decisions have been made.

The investigations are part of a broader U.S. crackdown on potential insider trading in prediction markets. Authorities have previously charged a servicemember who traded contracts ahead of a U.S. operation in Venezuela and a Google employee accused of using internal company information to trade on Polymarket.