- Nate has been profiting from this exclusive knowledge.
- His understanding of NFTs allowed him to buy many of them for profit.
Nathaniel Chastain, a former OpenSea executive who resigned in September 2021, has been charged with insider trading. Because of his alleged involvement in insider trading with non-fungible tokens, Nate has been charged with money laundering and wire fraud. On the OpenSea platform, he has been accused of utilizing insider knowledge regarding the NFTs that would be presented on its site. Nate has been profiting from this exclusive knowledge.
Potential Penalty of 20 Years
There was a public announcement on the U.S. Department of Justice website. Nate was taken into custody this morning and brought before a federal judge. When using OpenSea’s proprietary knowledge, FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll says Nate used a classic insider trading method. His understanding of NFTs allowed him to buy many of them for profit.
According to the complaint, Nate’s responsibility was to choose which NFTs would be shown on the OpenSea main page. Users will be more inclined to pay for an NFT if presented prominently on the site, increasing the demand for that particular collection.
Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney, said:
“NFTs might be new, but this type of criminal scheme is not. Today’s charges demonstrate the commitment of this Office to stamping out insider trading – whether it occurs on the stock market or the blockchain.”
Between June 2021 and September 2021, Nate allegedly purchased to-be-featured NFTs using the information he obtained and resold them for two to five times their original purchase price. Anonymous wallets and accounts were utilized for trading and purchasing. One case of wire fraud and one count of money laundering have been filed against Nate Chastain. There is a potential penalty of 20 years for each of these offenses.
