Polymarket investigates dozens of midterm election bets for insider trading

Polymarket has looked into “dozens” of bets on its midterm election markets for possible insider trading and manipulation. The company’s head of global intelligence and investigations, Shana Bautista, disclosed the figure in an interview with NPR. At least two of those investigations have been referred to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to NPR, which cited a person familiar with the probes. Polymarket itself has not described the referrals in detail. A surveillance system that never sleeps The investigations come from a new election surveillance system the company has rolled out. Bautista told NPR that it pulls together campaign finance, crypto and banking data. The output is not subtle. Bautista said the system produces “hundreds of alerts a day” as the election approaches. According to the research findings reviewed for this story, the system also draws on social media posts and Federal Election Commission filings. The idea is to cross-reference who is betting against who might know something the public doesn’t. Early findings reportedly point to specific traders. Investigators flagged patterns such as unusually heavy trading concentration among certain accoun...