U.S. charges ex-Coinbase manager in first crypto insider trading case

In the first insider trading case involving cryptocurrencies, a former product manager at Coinbase Global and two other individuals have been charged with wire fraud, according to US authorities in Manhattan on Thursday.

The bitcoin exchange's product manager Ishan Wahi and his brother Nikhil Wahi were taken into custody on Thursday in Seattle.

They are also accused of comparable US Securities and Exchange Commission civil violations together with a third defendant, their buddy Sameer Ramani. Ramani is untraceable.

Ishan Wahi, 32, is "innocent of any crime and wants to firmly defend himself," according to a statement from his attorneys. Requests for feedback from Nikhil Wahi's legal counsel were not immediately fulfilled. A lawyer representing Ramani was not immediately available to Reuters.

Ishan Wahi, according to the prosecution, divulged secret information on upcoming announcements of new digital assets that Coinbase will let customers to trade on its platform.

They said that after being called in for a meeting by a Coinbase security director, Ishan Wahi purchased a one-way ticket to India. According to authorities, law enforcement prevented him from boarding the aircraft on May 16.

Ishan Wahi's bail was set at $1 million and he was told to turn in his passports during his first court appearance in Seattle federal court. Despite his apparent effort to elude capture, the prosecution did not request that he be held. On August 2, he will make his next court appearance in Manhattan.

Nikhil Wahi, 26, and Ramani, 33, are accused of buying and selling at least 25 crypto assets for a profit in the associated civil accusations, nine of which the SEC claims it has recognized as securities.

The SEC refused to comment on whether it would take legal action against Coinbase for listing the coins described in the complaint as securities, stating only that its investigation was still underway.

Prosecutors claim that Wahi and Ramani bought the assets using ethereum blockchain wallets and traded at least 14 times before Coinbase made its disclosures in June 2021 and April 2022, making at least $1.5 million in illegal profits.

Whether it happens on Wall Street or the blockchain, fraud is fraud, according to U.S. Attorney for Manhattan Damian Williams.

The business disclosed information from the internal investigation into the transaction with authorities, according to Philip Martin, chief security officer at Coinbase.

Martin said on Twitter, "We are dedicated to doing our share to guarantee that all market participants have access to the same information.

Coinbase admitted in a blog post that Ishan, Nikhil Wahi, and Ramani had all been charged individually by the SEC with securities fraud, but pointed out that federal prosecutors had not brought such a complaint.

The blog post said that "no assets posted on our site are securities, and the SEC allegations are a regrettable diversion from today's appropriate law enforcement action."

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan accused a former product manager with insider trading last month in what they said was the first such case involving digital assets. OpenSea is the biggest online marketplace for non-fungible tokens.