Former OpenSea employee Nate Chastain charged in first-ever digital asset insider trading case
- NFTs
- Regulation
On June 1, 2022, federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged former OpenSea product manager Nathaniel Chastain with wire fraud and money laundering tied to NFT trading. Prosecutors alleged he used confidential information about which NFTs would be featured on OpenSea's homepage to buy ahead of promotion and sell after visibility-driven price increases. The case was widely framed as the first insider trading prosecution involving digital assets and NFTs in the United States.