Ethereum

Read

A former head of product at NFT marketplace giant OpenSea has been sentenced to prison and will forfeit the Ethereum (<a href="https://crypto.news/price/ethereum/" data-type="link" data-id="https://crypto.news/price/ethereum/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ETH</a>) he gained from his insider trading activities.&nbsp; 
In May, Nathanial ‘Nate’ Chastain was <a href="https://crypto.news/former-opensea-executive-convicted-of-insider-trading-involving-nfts/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">convicted</a> of fraud and money laundering. The update was revealed in a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-employee-nft-marketplace-sentenced-prison-first-ever-digital-asset-insider" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">press release</a> on Aug. 22.&nbsp; 
Chastain, whose job at OpenSea included selecting NFTs appearing on the platform’s front page, will serve a three-month jail term and another three months of home confinement. 
The former OpenSea executive will also be subject to three years of supervised release, pay a fine of $50,000, and forfeit the ETH he gained from the NFT insider trading. 
 You might also like: <a href="https://crypto.news/thai-sec-levies-234000-fine-against-bitkub-executive-for-alleged-insider-trading/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Thai SEC levies $234,000 fine against BitKub executive for alleged insider trading </a> 
Between June and September 2021, the product manager took advantage of confidential information to purchase NFTs that he knew would appear on OpenSea’s homepage. When such NFTs were eventually featured, the executive would sell them two to five times his purchase price, thereby making profits.&nbsp; 
Chastain reportedly bought and sold 45 NFTs using secret wallets and anonymous OpenSea accounts to conceal the illegal activity. The former employee’s actions <a href="https://crypto.news/opensea-employee-insider-trading-18-eth-profit/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">came to light</a> in September 2021, with the executive resigning from OpenSea.&nbsp; 
Chastain was later <a href="https://crypto.news/opensea-head-product-arrested-charged-nft-insider-trading-case/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">arrested</a> by US authorities in June 2022 and charged with one count each of wire fraud and money laundering. In August 2022, the former product manager <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.580756/gov.uscourts.nysd.580756.19.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">filed a motion</a> to dismiss the insider trading allegations against him and the wire fraud count.&nbsp; 
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"> 
 “Nathanial Chastain faced justice today for violating the trust that his employer placed in him by using OpenSea’s confidential information for his profit. Today’s sentence should serve as a warning to other corporate insiders that insider trading – in any marketplace – will not be tolerated.” <cite>Statement by US Attorney Damian Williams</cite> 
</blockquote> 
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="more-insider-traders-face-jail-terms">More insider traders face jail terms</h2> 
Meanwhile, compared to Chastain’s sentence, an ex-Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi, was sentenced to two years in prison for insider trading. Ishan, his brother Nikhil Wahi, and his friend Sameer Ramani used confidential knowledge to profit from new token listings on Coinbase. Nikhil also pleaded guilty and got a 10-month prison sentence. 
Ishan and Nikhil <a href="https://crypto.news/former-coinbase-employees-settle-insider-trading-case-with-sec/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">reached an agreement</a> with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in May 2023 to forfeit their ill-gotten funds.&nbsp; 
 Read more: <a href="https://crypto.news/insider-trading-lawsuit-filed-against-coinbase-executives-and-board-members/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Insider trading lawsuit filed against Coinbase executives and board members </a>

OpenSea former exec imprisoned for NFT insider trading

Table of Contents

crypto.news

Other articles published on Aug 23, 2023

Shiba Inu: Is the SHIB Army Trying To Revive the Network?

Near Protocol and Ethereum Outshined By Everlodge’s Predicted 280% Surge

TRON Price Prediction: TRX Persist In Rise, Targeting $0.09000

Binance’s Russian Activities Under Scrutiny: Former SEC Chief Raises Concerns of Imminent DOJ Action

Police want party animal and alleged crypto scammer Moshe Hogeg charged with fraud

FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Pleads Not Guilty to Fraud and Money Laundering Charges

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!