Polymarket Investigated Dozens of Midterm Trades; At Least Two Reach CFTC

Polymarket has investigated dozens of trades tied to the U.S. midterm elections, and at least two cases have been referred to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as the Nov. 3 vote approaches.

Shana Bautista, Polymarket’s global intelligence and investigations chief, disclosed the investigations. She joined the company in June after working at the FBI and leads a 16-person team that reviews election-related trades.

The team is using a recently launched election-monitoring system to review trading connected with the vote. The system draws on social media, Federal Election Commission (FEC) data, cryptocurrency companies and banking partners, producing hundreds of alerts a day for the team to assess.

At least two cases from the broader review have been referred to the CFTC. Bautista said Polymarket’s international platform allows users to trade anonymously with cryptocurrency, but investigators were able to identify likely traders in every case handled by her team. The referrals came as the company monitors election-related trading ahead of voting on Nov. 3.