A Polymarket account that earned about $400,000 from a controversial and well-timed bet on the capture of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is no longer accessible on the platform.
The Polymarket page for account “0x31a56e,” which placed about $32,000 on Maduro’s removal as president just before news emerged of his capture by US military and law enforcement, now returns a dead link, Cointelegraph has confirmed.
As of Thursday about 1:00 p.m. UTC, the page showed an error saying “Oops… we didn’t forecast this,” while other users’ pages remain accessible.
The development comes amid growing concern in the crypto community over high‑profile bets and unusual trading activity on prediction markets.
Source: PolymarketAccount offloaded $437,000 in USDC after win
The Polymarket account in question placed a series of related wagers on Polymarket, according to data available on Wayback Machine.
Along with the bet on Maduro’s ouster, the user placed bets on US forces being in Venezuela by Jan. 31, the US “invading Venezuela” by Jan. 31 and on whether US President Donald Trump would “invoke War Powers” against Venezuela by Jan. 31.
Source: Wayback MachineThe account’s corresponding address on the Polygon blockchain received about $436,700 in USDC (USDC) from the Polymarket CTF Exchange on Jan. 3 at 1:41 pm UTC. Hours later, $437,800 of USDC left the address at 11:54 pm UTC.
Insider allegations hit prediction markets
Polymarket did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment on whether the account had been deliberately deactivated, if the issue was a platform glitch or if the user had deleted their profile. The company has not issued a public statement on the matter.
Polymarket’s privacy policy says users can request that the platform delete or return all personal data, including copies and backups.
As mentioned, there are growing concerns over insider trading and transparency in prediction markets, even beyond the crypto community.
Source: LookonchainSome US lawmakers, including Representative Ritchie Torres, have backed legislation aimed at curbing insider trading on such platforms.
The news comes as a separate trader with an account boasting a reported 100% win rate placed bet on the US striking Iran by the end of January on Polymarket, further fueling scrutiny of insider activity among industry observers.
Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026
Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/polymarket-user-who-won-400k-on-maduro-ouster-bet-quietly-disappears?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound
