Former Coinbase Manager Charged In First Crypto Insider Trading Case
US charges ex-Coinbase manager in first crypto insider trading case
A former product manager at Coinbase Global and two others have been charged with wire fraud in the first insider trading case involving cryptocurrency, US prosecutors in Manhattan said on Thursday.
Ishan Wahi, the product manager at the cryptocurrency exchange, and his brother Nikhil Wahi were arrested on Thursday in Seattle.
They and a third defendant, their friend Sameer Ramani, also face related U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges. Ramani is at large.
In a statement, lawyers for Ishan Wahi, 32, said he is "innocent of all wrongdoing and intends to defend himself vigorously." A lawyer for Nikhil Wahi did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters could not immediately identify a lawyer for Ramani.
Prosecutors said Ishan Wahi shared confidential information about forthcoming announcements of new cryptocurrency assets that Coinbase would allow users to trade through its exchange.
They also said Ishan Wahi bought a one-way plane ticket to India after a Coinbase security director summoned him to the company's Seattle office for a meeting. Law enforcement barred him from boarding the May 16 flight, prosecutors said.
At Ishan Wahi's initial appearance in Seattle federal court, bail was set at $1 million, and he was ordered to surrender his passports. Prosecutors did not demand that he be detained despite his alleged attempt to flee. His next federal court appearance is on Aug. 2 in Manhattan.
In the related civil charges, the SEC alleged that Nikhil Wahi, 26, and Ramani, 33, purchased and sold at least 25 crypto assets for a profit, nine of which the agency said it had identified as securities.
An SEC official said its investigation
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