<\/p>\n
Norwegian officials have reportedly launched an investigation into prediction platforms\u2019 bets on 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner Mar\u00eda Corina Machado as potential espionage.<\/p>\n
According to a Bloomberg report on Monday, the Norwegian Nobel Institute, the entity that assists the Nobel Committee in selecting the peace prize recipient, began investigating<\/a> reports that bets on the prediction platform Polymarket surged in the hours before the announcement of Machado as the winner. <\/p>\n Officials are reportedly still in the process of investigating whether someone \u201cmanaged to steal information and made a lot of money from it,\u201d according to the institute\u2019s director, Kristian Berg Harpviken.\u00a0<\/p>\n Data from Polymarket showed<\/a> one user under the name \u201cdirtycup\u201d made more than $30,000 after about $70,000 worth of bets on Machado. Bloomberg reported that three accounts that had mainly placed similar bets profited by about a combined $90,000.<\/p>\n Machado received the peace prize<\/a> for promoting democracy in Venezuela through her work as a human rights activist. In 2024, she praised Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) as \u201ca lifeline\u201d during hyperinflation in the country, as some residents used it \u201cto protect their wealth and to finance their escape.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong><\/em>MetaMask to let users bet on politics, sports via Polymarket<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Polymarket, which launched in 2020, has become a platform for many crypto users to bet on the outcomes of a variety of issues, from the Nobel Prize to the top-selling musical albums. Last week, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), invested $2 billion<\/a> in Polymarket ahead of a reported US launch.<\/p>\n Prediction markets recently came under attack by the animated series South Park, which poked fun at platforms<\/a> like Polymarket and Kalshi as well as the US regulators responsible for overseeing them. Perhaps unironically, some of the predictions made<\/a> on the show ended up being listed on Polymarket. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In September, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a no-action letter<\/a> for two Polymarket entities. The move allows the platform to offer event contracts without reporting the data typically required under US regulations, without the threat of enforcement.<\/p>\n Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan said that the CFTC\u2019s action had given Polymarket \u201cthe green light to go live in the USA.\u201d Coplan reportedly achieved billionaire status<\/a> last week after the ICE investments.<\/p>\nTargeted in the media and by US regulators<\/h2>\n