Trump Jails ‘Venezuela Leaker’: Suspicious Polymarket Whales Go Silent After Accurate Bets
US President Donald Trump’s declare {that a} “leaker on Venezuela” has been discovered and jailed after a bunch of unusually well-timed bets on Polymarket following the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Speaking within the Oval Office this week, Trump said the person accountable for leaking delicate info associated to Venezuela was “in jail proper now” and will face a protracted jail sentence.
While Trump didn’t identify the particular person or reference betting markets immediately, his feedback instantly renewed scrutiny of a cluster of Polymarket accounts that positioned massive, extremely worthwhile wagers on Maduro’s removing from energy shortly earlier than the information turned public.
Smart Trades or Leaked Intelligence? Questions Grow as Polymarket Wallets Go Dark
Blockchain analytics agency Lookonchain said that two of the three wallets beforehand linked to these Venezuela-focused bets have turn into inactive.
Lookonchain famous that these wallets stopped buying and selling across the identical interval Trump recommended the leaker had been detained.
The agency highlighted that one account, recognized as 0xa72DB1, turned a $5,800 stake into roughly $75,000 by betting that Maduro could be out of workplace by January 31, 2026.
Another pockets, 0x31a56e, reportedly invested about $34,000 and walked away with greater than $400,000 earlier than disappearing from the platform round January 8.
A 3rd pockets, often called SBet365, stays energetic, as Lookonchain famous that this account positioned a brand new wager two days in the past predicting that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could be faraway from workplace by the tip of January.
The identical pockets had beforehand earned round $145,000 from Venezuela-related bets.
In early January, Lookonchain reported that the three wallets had been created and funded days prematurely, then immediately positioned massive bets simply hours earlier than Maduro’s arrest.
The timing of these trades has intensified issues about insider info flowing into prediction markets.
Legal specialists word that leaking categorized or delicate authorities info can carry extreme penalties underneath U.S. legislation, notably the Espionage Act.
Depending on the character of the data, intent, and potential hurt, sentences can vary from a number of years in jail to many years, alongside substantial fines and everlasting lack of safety clearance.
Recent enforcement actions linked to Venezuela-related leaks counsel authorities are treating such circumstances aggressively.
Polymarket’s Growing Pains Spark Calls for Prediction Market Reform
While Polymarket markets are open to the general public, critics argue that entry to nonpublic authorities or army info undermines belief in platforms that mix parts of finance, playing, and political forecasting.
Trump himself recommended there may very well be multiple leaker, saying officers would “let you recognize about that” if others are recognized.
The controversy comes as Polymarket faces separate backlash over its dealing with of Venezuela-related contracts.
On January 7, the platform said it would not settle millions of dollars in wagers tied as to whether the United States would invade Venezuela, regardless of Maduro’s seize throughout a U.S. operation.
Polymarket argued that the raid didn’t meet its contractual definition of an “invasion,” which it mentioned requires army motion supposed to ascertain management over territory.
Over $10.5 million was guess on the outcome, and the ruling was not welcomed effectively by many merchants, who accused the platform of fixing its understanding of the principles retrospectively.
On January 6, Representative Ritchie Torres also stated he would introduce the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026.
The laws proposed would stop federal officers and political appointees from buying and selling prediction market contracts which might be primarily based on authorities actions or a political final result once they maintain materials nonpublic info or have entry to such nondisclosed info..
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