CFTC opened three Polymarket probes

The U.S. government launched at least three previously unreported investigations into trading on Polymarket, according to WIRED, after reviewing documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. The records included CFTC voting material that shed new light on how the government approaches these investigations.

In early May, CFTC chairman Michael Selig approved an order allowing the enforcement division to investigate possible insider trading on Polymarket contracts tied to pardons issued by former President Joseph Biden. The order authorised testimony, subpoenas, oaths and demands for documents. The move came several weeks after NPR reported on a trader who made roughly $300,000 on Biden pardon markets, including bets that Biden would issue pre-emptive pardons for Jim Biden, Liz Cheney, Adam Schiff and Adam Kinzinger.

At the end of May, Selig approved a second probe focused on Iran event contracts. That order followed a 60 Minutes report two weeks earlier about nine connected Polymarket accounts that made more than $2.4 million on Iran-related trades and won 98% of more than 80 bets. CBS News said the bets tracked specific moments in the conflict, including the first U.S. strikes, the removal of Iran’s supreme leader and the announcement of a ceasefire.

In July, Selig approved a third investigation into suspected insider trading on Google-themed Polymarket event contracts. An email from acting enforcement director Paul Hayeck said the inquiry would look at “additional individuals who may have engaged in insider trading related to Google’s 2025 Year in Search Ranking”, and that the Southern District of New York was running a parallel investigation. The CFTC case would be separate from the ongoing matter against Michele Spagnuolo, a Google engineer accused of insider trading.

Polymarket’s deputy chief legal officer, Olivia Chalos, told WIRED that the company does not comment on specific investigations, but regularly refers matters to law enforcement and supports ongoing investigations in order to protect market integrity. The CFTC did not respond to questions about the status of the probes.

Polymarket’s flagship platform was banned in the U.S. in 2022, later allowed to launch a narrower U.S.-regulated version in late 2025, and valued at $21 billion after a fundraising round led by 1789 Capital. It also said two people had already been arrested in Polymarket insider-trading cases, with civil CFTC charges and criminal fraud charges filed in both cases.