Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth barred Pentagon and defense-agency personnel from using nonpublic information to bet on imminent military operations, including through Kalshi and Polymarket, BlockBeats reported, citing Cointelegraph.
Memo covers classified and unclassified information
Hegseth’s memo to senior Defense Department and related agency officials covers both classified and unclassified information. It says prediction-market bets could expose military operations and affect operational security and personnel judgment.
The directive followed the April indictment of Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke. Prosecutors alleged that he used classified information about a planned operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to bet on Polymarket and profit more than $400,000. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
BlockBeats also reported that Israeli authorities arrested and charged a military reservist and a civilian in February over alleged Polymarket bets tied to an Israeli strike on Iran. The accounts were attributed to Cointelegraph’s report.