Nikhil Wahi, the brother of a former product manager at Coinbase Global, Inc., pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to engage in insider trading in cryptocurrency assets. By employing secret information held by Coinbase about which cryptocurrencies plan to be listed on Coinbase’s exchanges. Cryptocurrency Insider Trading Case US Attorney Damian Williams said, “Less than two months after his indictment, Nikhil Wahi admitted in court that he traded crypto assets based on confidential Coinbase business information to which he was not entitled.” A defendant has admitted guilt for the first time in a case involving cryptocurrency exchanges and insider trading. The guilty plea should serve as a reminder to individuals trading cryptocurrencies that the Southern District of New York will continue to be vigilant in keeping track of scams of all stripes and adjusting to new technical developments. All About Allegations Ishan Wahi worked at Coinbase as a product manager assigned to a Coinbase asset listing team starting around October 2020. In that capacity, Ishan was involved in the incredibly private process of adding crypto assets to Coinbase’s exchanges and was well-versed in both the specific crypto assets Coinbase planned to list and the date of when those listings would be made public. After receiving details from him about the cryptocurrency assets, Coinbase intended to list them...
