America

World

Axiom

FIFA

Polymarket

Wall Street banks are restricting employee trading on prediction market platforms due to fears that they may use nonpublic information to trade event contracts.
Goldman Sachs has reportedly banned its employees from trading on event contracts that are specific to the bank, including financial markets, macroeconomic events, elections and geopolitics, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/09/prediction-markets-spark-insider-trading-fears-how-firms-are-responding.html?taid=6a4fefa5c4b71c00012adda3" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">reported</a>, citing people familiar with the matter.
Unidentified sources from Morgan Stanley also told CNBC that the bank has policies regarding prediction market trading by employees, while a spokesperson for Bank of America said the bank was in the process of issuing new prohibitive measures for employees on prediction market trading.
The report adds to insider trading fears regarding prediction markets, which have attracted the attention of the White House and US lawmakers, who <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ritchie-torres-bill-elected-officials-prediction-markets-bets" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">proposed legislation aimed at restricting</a> political prediction market trading by government officials.&nbsp;
Cointelegraph approached Goldman Sachs to ask what triggered the preventive policies. A spokesperson for the bank declined to comment.
In May, the US Justice Department and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said that Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-charges-google-employee-with-insider-trading-on-polymarket" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">profited $1.2 million</a> on Polymarket after accessing nonpublic information at work.
On June 18, Wisconsin Representative Bryan Steil introduced a law to <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/prediction-markets-law-white-house-officials" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">prevent certain public</a> officials from “wagering on public policy issues and political outcomes,” but didn’t mention any White House officials by name.
One major flashpoint arose in January, when a soldier allegedly <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-soldier-charged-for-400k-bet-over-maduros-presidency-on-polymarket" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">made more than $400,000</a> betting on the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was ousted and captured by US forces.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/suspected-insider-1-2m-zachxbt-axiom-expose" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Suspected insider wallets rack up $1.2M betting on ZachXBT’s Axiom exposé</a>
<h2 id="polymarket-seeks-broader-us-access">Polymarket seeks broader US access</h2>
Meanwhile, Polymarket is seeking regulatory approval to offer margin trading for US users, which would enable them to bet on events with less capital upfront.
The prediction market filed an application to become a futures commission merchant through its affiliate, Coming Home GBA LLC, according to a July 3 <a href="https://www.nfa.futures.org/BasicNet/basic-profile.aspx?nfaid=0579944" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">filing</a> with the National Futures Association (NFA).
The filing marks Polymarket's latest attempt to expand its US footprint and attract more users. Cointelegraph approached Polymarket for comment on the matter. The platform also needs authorization from the CFTC to allow non-fully collateralized trading for users.&nbsp;
Polymarket’s main rival already received US regulatory approval to provide margin trading, after its affiliate, Kinetic Markets LLC, received an NFA <a href="https://www.nfa.futures.org/BasicNet/basic-profile.aspx?nfaid=laKM6t6wuBQ%3D" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">authorization</a> in March.
<img alt="" height="692" src="https://s3-images.ctmedia.io/media/content/pasted-image-1977.png" width="1383">
Coming Home GBA LLC, filing. Source: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">nfa.futures.org</a>&nbsp;
Polymarket reached a record $713 million in daily taker volume on June 20, according to Dune <a href="https://dune.com/queries/7376021/11308166" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">data</a>. The milestone came more than a week after the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/polymarket-first-crypto-touchpoint-world-cup-bettors" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">World Cup kicked</a> off on June 11.
<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/world-cup-drives-prediction-markets-to-record-june-trading-volumes" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Kalshi also posted</a> a record monthly trading volume of nearly $9.4 billion in June, as the 2026 FIFA World Cup fueled activity across prediction markets.
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/features/prediction-market-battle-gets-closer-to-supreme-court" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Prediction market battle gets closer to Supreme Court</a>

Wall Street banks tighten prediction market rules for staff as insider fears spread

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