Polymarket faces regulatory scrutiny and security breach as US lawmakers demand CFTC probe

Two US senators, Republican John Curtis and Democrat Adam Schiff, have written to CFTC Chair Michael Selig urging an investigation into Polymarket’s advertising after the Wall Street Journal reported that the platform paid influencers to produce staged videos of trading activity. The investigation focuses on whether the videos, which the Journal says misrepresented real trades in about 70% of over 1,100 clips, violate federal consumer‑protection rules.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has opened a new inquiry into Polymarket, adding to previous enforcement actions that included a $1.4 million fine and a ban on serving US customers. Polymarket declined to comment on the current probe.

Separately, the prediction‑market platform reported record trading activity, with a 24‑hour volume of $20.1 million and $16.9 million in liquidity, driven by markets on AI, war, tech and political futures. Traders on Polymarket and Kalshi also priced Bitcoin odds, assigning roughly a 64% chance the price will fall to $50,000 or lower before the end of 2026.

In a distinct incident, an approximate $3 million loss of user assets was attributed to a breach of a third‑party service used by Polymarket. The attack did not exploit the platform’s core blockchain infrastructure but highlighted broader security risks in the crypto ecosystem and may prompt further regulatory attention.