Ishan Wahi, a former product manager at Coinbase Global Inc., has entered a guilty plea to two charges of conspiracy to conduct wire fraud in a case that has been dubbed the first insider trading case using bitcoin by the prosecution in the United States.
According to a story that was published by Reuters on February 7th, the authorities are alleging that Wahi gave sensitive information to his brother Nikhil and friend Sameer Ramani, including upcoming announcements of new digital assets that Coinbase customers will be able to trade. The announcement resulted in a subsequent increase in the value of assets, which made it possible for Nikhil and Sameer Raman to create illegal profits of at least $1.5 million. Nikhil Wahi and Ramani are accused of utilizing Ethereum blockchain wallets to buy digital assets and engaging in trade prior to the notifications made by Coinbase.
Ishan Wahi confessed at the hearing on February 7 in a Manhattan federal court that he knew Sameer Ramani and Nikhil Wahi would use such information to make trading choices. The hearing took place in a federal court. He continued by saying, “It was inappropriate to misappropriate and spread Coinbase’s property.”
Ishan Wahi has reached a bargain with the prosecution in which he would serve between 36 and 47 months in jail in exchange for his guilty plea. The date set for his hearing to determine his sentence is May 10th. According to reports, Coinbase provided the authorities with the results of an internal investigation company had conducted into the trade.
Due to the fact that Nikhil Wahi benefited approximately $900,000 from his illegal actions, U.S. prosecutors recommended that he serve a jail term ranging from ten to sixteen months in prison. This recommendation was made because of the fact that he engaged in illegal activity. However, his defense attorneys offered an alternate verdict, arguing that the man’s motivation for the act was to reimburse his parents for the money they had put into his college degree and that the man did not have a history of committing any other crimes.