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The act of insider trading was determined to be committed by the previous manager of the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea, based on Reuters report.
Nathaniel Chastain, a former product manager at OpenSea, allegedly chose the collections for market distribution. After that, he would frequently purchase these NFTs and later sell them whenever they were available on the platform. In conjunction with all of these purported transactions, he was accused of both fraud and money laundering.
The Investigation
The proceedings commenced on April 24. According to several analysts that monitored the situation, the resolution may have an impact on whether NFTs would be regarded as securities. According to lawyer Daniel Philor, Chastain is innocent since he was never informed that this information should be kept private.
Chastain allegedly realized that he was breaching the law, according to the prosecution. The former marketplace manager, according to Allison Nichols, utilized anonymous OpenSea accounts to conduct deals, suggesting that he was likely aware that he was breaching the law.
He concealed his dealings and was aware that he had broken the OpenSea secrecy agreement, according to Nichols. Several insider trading incidents have occurred on the OpenSea bitcoin market. Ishan Wahi, a former platform employee, and his brother Nikhil were also charged with this.
Ishan, who worked as a product manager from August 2021 to May 2022, allegedly had access to information on the listing of cryptocurrencies on exchanges under Coinbase’s jurisdiction. In order for his brother and their mutual friend Samir Ramani to purchase tokens before their value increased, he shared this knowledge with them. Following that, Wahi admitted he was guilty.
The exchange’s administration has also been charged with insider trading. A number of prominent people, including CEO Brian Armstrong, have been charged with using insider knowledge regarding the sale of shares to prevent losses of more than $1 billion. Before releasing a disappointing financial report, the Board of Directors of Coinbase conducted a “direct listing,” selling off $2.9 billion in shares.