Judge Stays CFTC Case Against US Soldier Over Polymarket Bets
Key Takeaways
- •Judge Andrew Carter granted prosecutors' motion to stay the CFTC civil case pending the resolution of the parallel criminal proceedings against Van Dyke.
- •Van Dyke allegedly earned more than $400,000 trading Polymarket contracts tied to the attempted removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro using nonpublic information.
- •Van Dyke has filed a motion to dismiss the criminal indictment, arguing that the CFTC's classification of prediction market event contracts as swaps is legally ambiguous.
- •The case is part of a broader CFTC crackdown on prediction market platforms, including Polymarket and Kalshi, as the agency asserts authority over event contracts under the Commodity Exchange Act.
- •Van Dyke pleaded not guilty to all charges and could face a criminal trial beginning in late 2026 or early 2027.
A federal judge has ordered that a civil case brought by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) be stayed pending the outcome of a criminal case against a US soldier accused of using nonpublic information to profit from a Polymarket event contract tied to the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
In a Monday ruling in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, District Judge Andrew Carter granted a motion filed by prosecutors in July to stay the CFTC's civil case "pending the outcome of the criminal proceeding." Such stays are common when parallel civil and criminal proceedings overlap, as defendants may face conflicting obligations between civil discovery and their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.
The cases against Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a US Army Special Forces Master Sergeant, center on allegations that he made more than $400,000 on Polymarket event contracts tied to Maduro's removal. According to the US Department of Justice, Van Dyke was involved in the operation to oust Maduro in January, which led to allegations that he used nonpublic information to profit on prediction markets. Polymarket, a blockchain-based platform where users wager on real-world event outcomes, agreed to a CFTC settlement in 2022 and ceased serving US customers, though the case highlights continuing questions about enforcement against individuals who access the platform.
Both the criminal and civil cases were filed in April and could have implications for lawmakers and government officials using prediction markets. The matter is part of a broader wave of CFTC enforcement actions targeting trading on prediction market platforms, including Kalshi, as the agency asserts its authority over event contracts it classifies as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act. Van Dyke has already filed a motion to dismiss the criminal indictment on separate legal grounds, including an argument that the CFTC's enforcement of event contracts as "swaps" on prediction markets was "ambiguous."
Van Dyke pleaded not guilty to all charges and could face a criminal trial beginning in late 2026 or early 2027.
Related: Trump teleprompter operator made $100K betting on Kalshi markets tied to speeches: ABC
