SEC Makes Its First Crypto Insider Trading Arrest

After the first crypto insider trading investigation ever conducted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a former product manager at Coinbase was brought before the court. The defendant, Ishan Wahi, is accused of leaking info on token listings before they were released.

Allegedly, Wahi tipped off his brother and friend, who’ve used this information to make over $1 million from 2021 to 2022. In May, Wahi tried to flee Seattle after the investigators tried to arrange a meeting with him, but was caught. Wahi currently isn’t detended thanks to the $1 million bail from his Robinhood account.

SEC deems nine, out of several dozen coins on which the information was leaked, to be securities. A Commission representative stated that this is a typical case of insider trading leaks that SEC had dealt with before, just not in the realm of crypto.

This is part of the increasing government regulation of the crypto industry. The chairman of the SEC, Gary Gensler, believes that all crypto exchanges should be obligated to register their business with SEC. While Coinbase is yet to do so, the exchange was commended for fully cooperating during the investigation.

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  An experienced journalist working in the film and video-game industries for many years. An enthusiast busy with learning new things about the world of crypto every day. Majored in English Language and Literature. Has a shrine in his apartment dedicated to Hidetaka Miyazaki.

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Tags:coinbase,insider trading,SEC