A US special forces soldier has pleaded not guilty to charges that he used classified information about the mission to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to win more than $US400,000 ($A560,000) on the prediction market Polymarket.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, entered the plea in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday after he was charged with the unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of non-public government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud and making an unlawful monetary transaction.
He was released on $US250,000 bail and his travel was restricted to portions of New York, North Carolina, California and points necessary to travel between.
Prosecutors said evidence in the case would include information resulting from grand jury subpoenas, cryptocurrency exchange records, search warrants and social media accounts.
Defence lawyer Zach Intrater told Judge Margaret M Garnett he doubted there would be many disputes arising from "the actual event", but suspected the case would rise and fall on motions he would make on behalf of his client.
The judge ordered Van Dyke to return to court on June 8.
The case comes during heavy scrutiny on prediction markets, which allow people to trade or wager on almost anything, as policymakers call for stricter regulation of the platforms amid concerns about insider trading.
The Trump administration has been supportive of the prediction market industry's expansion.
The president's eldest son is an adviser for both Polymarket and its main competitor, Kalshi, and he is a Polymarket investor.
Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, is launching its own prediction market called Truth Predict.
Prosecutors said Van Dyke was involved in the planning and execution of Maduro's capture and had signed non-disclosure agreements centred on the operations, but he eventually placed a series of bets related to Maduro being out of power by January 31.
According to a criminal complaint, the bets totalling $US33,000 were placed over a three-day period and resulted in "more than $404,000 of profits."
Polymarket, one of the largest prediction markets, flagged the suspicious activity and turned it over to the government, according to CEO Shayne Coplan.
Van Dyke, who is stationed at Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, North Carolina, was granted bond after a court hearing in North Carolina last week and will continue his case in New York.