US DEPLOYS AI TO CATCH INSIDER TRADING ON POLYMARKET

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has shifted resources toward detecting market manipulation and insider trading on decentralized prediction platforms. Selig told WIRED the agency employs AI systems to analyze trading patterns and identify suspicious activity that violates securities laws. Polymarket, which allows users to bet on outcomes of real-world events, has grown into a multi-billion dollar platform. The platform's explosive growth has attracted regulatory scrutiny, particularly regarding trades that appear to precede major news announcements. The CFTC's approach reflects broader challenges facing regulators as crypto and decentralized finance platforms operate across traditional regulatory boundaries. AI monitoring enables the agency to process large volumes of transaction data and flag anomalies faster than manual review. The effort underscores the government's commitment to enforcing insider trading laws in emerging digital markets, even as the legal framework for regulating prediction platforms remains unsettled.