A bettor made nearly half a million dollars on the ouster of Venezuela's president just before it was officially announced, raising questions about whether someone profited from inside knowledge of the US operation.
Wagers on Polymarket, a crypto-powered platform, that Nicolás Maduro would be out of power by the end of January rose in the hours before President Donald Trump announced on Saturday the Venezuelan leader had been seized.
One account, which joined the platform last month and took four positions, all on Venezuela, made more than $436,000 (£322,000) from a $32,537 bet.
It remains unclear who placed the bet. The anonymous account had a blockchain identifier of letters and numbers.
Polymarket data shows traders put the odds of Maduro's exit at just 6.5% in the afternoon of Friday 2 January.
