US Soldier in Polymarket Insider-Betting Case Opposes CFTC Court Filing as Regulatory End Run

A US soldier charged with making more than $400,000 on prediction market Polymarket using nonpublic information is opposing an attempt by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to weigh in on his criminal case.

Court filings submitted to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York and cited by Cointelegraph on August 24 show that lawyers for Gannon Ken Van Dyke objected to the CFTC's bid to file an amicus curiae brief. The agency said it wants to address several arguments raised by Van Dyke's defense, including whether event contracts on prediction markets such as Polymarket fall under the CFTC's jurisdiction as swaps.

Van Dyke's legal team argued that the CFTC is not a neutral friend of the court but a party with its own interest in related civil litigation. "The CFTC is not a friend of the court, but an interested regulator," the defense wrote, arguing that the agency is trying to advance its regulatory claims indirectly through the criminal proceeding.

US authorities charged Van Dyke with fraud in April. Prosecutors allege that, while participating in an operation in January tied to the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, he obtained nonpublic information, traded Polymarket event contracts and made more than $400,000 in profit. Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The CFTC also filed a civil suit against Van Dyke, but a federal court ordered that case paused until the criminal trial is completed. The trial could begin as early as late 2026 or early 2027.

The case has become part of a broader debate over what legal framework should govern trading on inside information in prediction markets. It is drawing attention as a key example amid continuing controversy over the regulatory scope of event contracts on platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi, as well as the potential for market manipulation.