Gannon Ken Van Dyke is an American soldier accused of using non-public information to trade event contracts related to the ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on the prediction market platform Polymarket, profiting over $400,000. U.S. authorities charged him with fraud in April. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had previously filed a civil lawsuit against Van Dyke, but a federal judge has ruled to postpone the proceedings until the outcome of the criminal case is determined.

The CFTC has applied to submit an amicus brief to express opinions on whether the event contracts fall under its regulatory scope as “swaps.” Van Dyke’s attorney filed documents on Monday with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York opposing the CFTC’s intervention in the criminal case, stating that the agency should face its own case directly. Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and the criminal trial may begin as early as late 2026 or early 2027.