- Nikhil Wahi had been taken into custody by the police in July.
- Nikhil liquidated his crypto holdings shortly after the announcements.
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York said on Monday, September 12 that 26-year-old Nikhil Wahi pled guilty to wire fraud and insider trading of cryptocurrencies by exploiting secret information of Coinbase’s listings.
To put it simply, Nikhil Wahi is the younger sibling of the former product manager of Coinbase Global, Inc. The court claims Wahi made massive profits from transactions involving cryptocurrencies by using Coinbase’s secret knowledge about upcoming crypto listings. Wahi had been taken into custody by the police in July.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:
“For the first time ever, a defendant has admitted his guilt in an insider trading case involving the cryptocurrency markets. Today’s guilty plea should serve as a reminder to those who participate in the cryptocurrency markets that the Southern District of New York will continue to steadfastly police frauds of all stripes and will adapt as technology evolves. Nikhil Wahi now awaits sentencing for his crime and must also forfeit his illicit profits.”
Failed Attempt
Between July 2021 and May 2022, Nikhil often spoke with his brother Ishan, a former product manager at Coinbase, for advice. This data pertained to Coinbase’s planned cryptocurrency listing expansion in the near future.
To buy cryptocurrency before Coinbase’s announcement of listings, Nikhil set up anonymous Ethereum blockchain wallets. Nikhil liquidated his crypto holdings shortly after the announcements and earned a huge profit.
Nikhil utilized fictitious names to transact on centralized exchanges in order to hide his true identity. At a later time, he would use a number of concealed ETH blockchain wallets to move about money, cryptocurrency, and profits. Nikhil also often established new blockchain wallets that had no record of any previous transactions. According to the prosecution’s case, Nikhil allegedly profited more than $1.5 million from these deals.
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