"An account trading under the username "Magamyman" made more than $553,000 placing bets on the prediction market Polymarket that Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would be out of power just before an Israeli strike killed him on Saturday. The trades drew scrutiny from members of Congress and critics of prediction markets, who say the platforms invite people with access to classified information to profit on lethal military operations."
""It's insane this is legal," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wrote on X. "People around Trump are profiting off war and death," he said, adding he plans to introduce legislation "asap" to outlaw this kind of activity."
"It's the latest episode igniting debate about how government and military insiders can monetize state secrets. In January, an anonymous trader made hundreds of thousands of dollars for placing suspiciously well-timed bets ahead of the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. A month later, authorities in Israel charged two people for using classified information to place bets on Polymarket about upcoming attacks on Iran."
An account named "Magamymman" made substantial profits trading on Polymarket, a prediction market, by betting that Iran's Supreme Leader would be out of power shortly before an Israeli strike killed him. The incident sparked congressional scrutiny and criticism from lawmakers who argue prediction markets enable people with access to classified information to profit from military operations. Over $500 million was traded on Polymarket regarding the timing of potential U.S. military strikes on Iran. Senator Chris Murphy announced plans to introduce legislation prohibiting such activity. The Trump administration denied involvement, though Donald Trump Jr. serves as an adviser to Polymarket and his firm has invested millions in the platform. Previous incidents include suspicious trades preceding Nicolas Maduro's arrest and Israeli charges against two individuals for using classified information to bet on Iranian attacks.
Read at www.npr.org
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]