Venezuela – U.S. Operations

An anonymous Polymarket account placed about a $30,000 wager that Nicolás Maduro would be ousted by the end of January and — after the bet was placed mere hours before former President Trump publicly announced Maduro’s capture — cashed out for more than $400,000 (reported at roughly $436,000); blockchain analysis indicates the trader used U.S. crypto exchanges to cash out. The episode prompted Rep. Ritchie Torres to introduce the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026 to align insider‑trading rules for prediction markets with securities law, and has drawn warnings from experts who say the timing shows “all the hallmarks” of insider trading while raising regulatory, conflict‑of‑interest and national‑security concerns as Polymarket seeks U.S. approval amid major investment and industry debate.