Pentagon bans military insider trading on Polymarket and Kalshi after $400K scandal

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has banned U.S. military personnel and Pentagon employees from trading prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi using nonpublic information. The directive follows the prosecution of a Special Forces soldier and a $400K betting scandal, with officials warning such bets could leak sensitive intelligence to adversaries. Traders should watch for tighter compliance scrutiny on prediction-market platforms, though the direct price impact on crypto is limited.