A former executive of OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace at the time of his arrest, was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering by a federal court in New York City. The executive Devin Chastain was accused of insider trading by buying NFTs that he had selected to feature on OpenSea’s homepage and selling them for illegal profits.
The US Department of Justice described this case as the first instance of insider trading involving digital assets. Chastain pleaded not to be guilty of the charges, but the jury found him guilty. He faced a potential maximum sentence of 20 years for each charge.
This case highlights the risks associated with using privileged information to trade in NFTs, which is becoming increasingly popular among users interested in buying, selling, or minting unique digital tokens linked to art, music, and other assets.
