Hegseth Bars Pentagon Staff From Trading on Nonpublic Intelligence

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered Pentagon personnel on Tuesday, Oct. 20, not to use nonpublic information in financial trades, including wagers on military events through prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket.

The memo applies to any financial transaction and covers both classified and unclassified intelligence. Hegseth wrote to senior Pentagon and defense agency officials that adversaries track shifts in prediction markets. “Our enemies are watching these markets move,” he wrote, warning that troops’ safety can depend on keeping future operations unknown to opponents.

The memo also says financial positions can create conflicts of interest for personnel making decisions, such as logistics officials with wagers on airstrike dates or analysts with stakes in specific outcomes.

The order follows the April prosecution of U.S. Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke. Prosecutors accused him of using advance information from the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to place Polymarket bets that earned more than $400,000. Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to all charges.