Morning Minute: Crypto Market Update, Polymarket Insider Arrest, and Tether Enforcement

Today’s top news:

Crypto majors are slightly green despite oil grinding higher; BTC at $78.3k

BTC ETFs continue green streak with another $223M in net inflows

Soldier arrested for making $400k on Polymarket inside trading Maduro raid

Tether executes its biggest freeze ever impacting $344M USDT on Tron

MegaETH confirms TGE for April 30th; MEGA -15%

Soldier Arrested for $400K Polymarket Insider Bet on Maduro Raid

The Department of Justice announced Thursday that Army Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, has been arrested and charged with using classified military information to profit on Polymarket.

Van Dyke participated in Operation Absolute Resolve, the January 3 raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and placed 13 bets on the platform between December 26 and January 2 using a VPN to mask his location.

He wagered approximately $33,000 across contracts tied to whether Maduro would be removed, whether US forces would invade Venezuela, and related outcomes. When the operation succeeded, he walked away with over $409,000 in winnings and immediately moved most of the proceeds to a foreign crypto wallet before depositing the remainder into a newly created brokerage account.

The DOJ charged Van Dyke with unlawful use of confidential government information, theft of government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction. The CFTC filed a parallel civil complaint the same day. Polymarket said it identified the account independently, referred the matter to the DOJ, and cooperated fully with the investigation.

Tether Freezes $344M in USDT - Its Largest Enforcement Action Ever

Tether announced Thursday that it froze $344 million in USDT across two wallets on the Tron blockchain following requests from US law enforcement. One wallet held $212.9 million, the other $131.3 million.

The freeze was coordinated with OFAC and multiple US agencies after the addresses were flagged for suspected sanctions evasion and criminal network activity. Tether moved to restrict the assets before the funds could be transferred further. The company did not identify the wallet owners or specify the nature of the underlying criminal activity.

The action is the largest single enforcement freeze in Tether’s history. To date, Tether has worked with more than 340 law enforcement agencies across 65 countries and has frozen a total of $4.4 billion in assets, including $2.1 billion tied to US agencies. CEO Paolo Ardoino stated: “USDT is not a safe haven for illicit activity. When credible links to sanctioned entities or criminal networks are identified, we act immediately and decisively.”

SBF Drops New Trial Bid, Says He Won’t Get a Fair Hearing

Sam Bankman-Fried filed a letter withdrawing his Rule 33 motion for a new trial. The withdrawal was without prejudice, meaning he can refile once his pending Second Circuit appeal is resolved. His reason, stated directly to Judge Lewis Kaplan: “I do not believe I will get a fair hearing on this topic in front of you.”

Meta Is Cutting 8,000 Jobs to Pay for Its AI Spending Spree

Meta announced Thursday it will lay off approximately 8,000 employees, about 10% of its total workforce, effective May 20. An internal memo stated the reason: “We’re doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making.”

Those other investments are AI. Meta spent $72 billion on capital expenditures in 2025 and projects that number to climb to between $115 and $135 billion in 2026, driven primarily by its Meta Superintelligence Labs and data center buildout. Middle management and non-engineering roles are expected to take the biggest hit. Meta also closed 6,000 open positions that will no longer be filled.