The former Coinbase product manager who was charged in the first-ever cryptocurrency insider trading case in the US has been sentenced to two years in prison.
Ishan Wahi was found guilty of tipping his brother Nikhil Wahi and their friend Sameer Raman about which tokens are to be listed next on the Coinbase crypto exchange.
His conspirators then used the information to engage in profitable trades.
On Tuesday, Judge Loretta A. Preska of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced Wahi to a two-year jail term for sharing the confidential business information that enabled him and his conspirators to earn $1.5 million in illicit profits.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams says Wahi, who also previously pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, violated the trust placed in him by his employer.
“Today’s sentence should send a strong signal to all participants in the cryptocurrency markets that the laws decidedly do apply to them. The Southern District of New York will hold those who engage in insider trading to full account, regardless of whether their illegal conduct occurs in the equity markets or in the market for crypto assets.”
The scheme came to light on April 12th after a popular Twitter account posted about an Ethereum (ETH) blockchain wallet that bought thousands of dollars worth of crypto assets about 24 hours before they were featured in the Coinbase Asset Listing.
On May 15th, Wahi bought a plane ticket to India in an attempt to leave the country shortly before he was supposed to appear in a Coinbase meeting about the listing leak, but law enforcement prevented him from boarding the flight.
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