Key facts
- Soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke is accused of using nonpublic information to profit over $400,000 on Polymarket event contracts.
- Van Dyke's defense opposes the CFTC's attempt to file an amicus brief in his criminal case.
- The CFTC wants to assert its jurisdiction over Polymarket's event contracts, classifying them as 'swaps'.
- A federal judge previously stayed the CFTC's civil case against Van Dyke pending the criminal case's resolution.
- Van Dyke faces fraud charges related to a bet on the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
A legal battle is unfolding between a US soldier, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over prediction market bets. Van Dyke, who allegedly profited over $400,000 by using nonpublic information on the Polymarket platform, is pushing back against the CFTC's efforts to intervene in his criminal case.
In a filing with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Van Dyke's legal team argued against the CFTC's request to submit an amicus brief. They contend that the regulator is acting as a "wolf" seeking to advance its own interests through the back door, rather than directly pursuing its civil case, which has been stayed pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings. The CFTC aims to establish that event contracts on platforms like Polymarket fall under its regulatory authority as "swaps."