SEC and DOJ Bring Parallel Crypto Insider Trading Cases; SEC Alleges Nine Tokens Are Securities
Posted in Blockchain
Significant parallel actions commenced this week by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) bring crypto fraud enforcement into the spotlight, with the SEC alleging that multiple tokens listed on Coinbase are securities. In its first insider trading case of “crypto asset securities,” the SEC charged a former Coinbase product manager, his brother and his friend for perpetrating a scheme to trade crypto assets that the SEC alleges are securities on the basis of confidential nonpublic information. The DOJ brought its first cryptocurrency insider trading tipping scheme case by charging the same three individuals with conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with the alleged insider trading. This case comes on the heels of the DOJ’s first insider trading case regarding a non-fungible token (NFT).
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