Former OpenSea Employee Convicted Of Insider Trading NFTs
Nathaniel Chastain, a former product manager at OpenSea, the world’s largest marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), was convicted of fraud and money laundering on Wednesday. Chastain was accused of buying NFTs that he had decided to feature on the OpenSea website and then selling them shortly afterward to make more than $50,000 in illegal profit, using inside knowledge.
Nathaniel Chastain, the former product manager at OpenSea, was convicted on Wednesday of fraud and money laundering for using inside knowledge of which assets would be featured on its home page to trade NFTs. Reuters reported. He was accused of buying NFTs he had decided to…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) May 3, 2023
Nathaniel Chastain Convicted
This was the first insider trading case involving digital assets, according to federal prosecutors in Manhattan. The charges against Chastain, which were announced last June, were the first in a series of high-profile cases related to digital assets launched by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan last year.
Prosecutor Thomas Burnett stated in his closing argument on Monday that Chastain had “abused his status at OpenSea to line his own pockets, and he lied to cover his tracks.” Chastain pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers argued that OpenSea did not treat knowledge of what NFTs would be featured on its home page as confidential information when Chastain worked at the company.
“You can’t hold Nate to a standard that didn’t exist,” Chastain’s lawyer Daniel Filor told jurors in his closing argument on Monday. “Nobody told Nate that he couldn’t use or share that information.”
Regulation of Digital Assets
However, prosecutor Allison Nichols argued that Chastain had used anonymous OpenSea accounts to make the illegal trades, showing that he knew what he was doing was wrong. “He hid what he was doing,” Nichols told the jury in her rebuttal argument. “He knew that he had violated OpenSea’s confidentiality agreement.”
Legal experts have said that this case could have broader implications for assets that do not fit into existing regulations preventing investment advisers, brokers, and others from trading on material non-public information. Insider trading is a serious offense that is punishable by fines, imprisonment, or both. This case sends a clear message that individuals who engage in insider trading will be prosecuted, regardless of the type of assets involved.
The verdict also highlights the importance of companies implementing proper policies and procedures to prevent insider trading. As the market for digital assets continues to grow, companies must ensure that their employees understand what constitutes confidential information and that they are held accountable for any violations.
