Axios Discovers Insider Trading… When It’s Not Pentagon Spending
Axios, ever vigilant, is up in arms because someone on Polymarket made a $436K profit off a $30K bet on Nicolás Maduro's capture, allegedly 'known' beforehand. The outrage? There aren't specific insider trading laws for prediction markets. One might wonder where this passionate defense of market integrity goes when elected officials, who routinely profit from investments in defense stocks, vote on
massive military budgets. For example, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), the same lawmaker now proposing a bill to curb prediction market 'insider trading,' has received at least $54,345 from pro-Israel groups, including AIPAC, since 2020. ( OpenSecrets.org ). It seems the definition of 'insider trading' conveniently shrinks to exclude the billions earned by those with actual foreknowledge of
geopolitical events—like, say, an upcoming military intervention—who just happen to have significant investments in the very industries that benefit most. Are we only worried about the small-time gambler, not the politicians legislating war and making bank on the fallout? How many 'surprise' military actions coincidentally boost the portfolios of those who approved them?