CFTC launches three investigations into Polymarket trading activity

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has launched at least three previously undisclosed investigations into trading activity on the prediction market platform Polymarket. According to records obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, the agency authorized evidence-gathering in May and July 2026.

The investigations focus on specific markets, including trades related to potential presidential pardons by Joe Biden, geopolitical tensions involving a potential military event in Iran, and Google’s ‘2025 Year in Search’.

While the CFTC has authorized these inquiries to collect evidence, the investigations do not establish that insider trading occurred or that Polymarket committed any wrongdoing. The probes highlight increasing regulatory scrutiny of the prediction-market sector and how event-based contracts align with existing derivatives laws.