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Insider Trading Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

Paul Hastings LLP

Public Company Watch: September 2023

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In the September edition of our Public Company Watch, we cover key issues impacting public companies, including the SEC’s new C&DIs and sample comment letter; considerations for issuers as they start their Form 10-Q...more

BakerHostetler

Jury Finds Former NFT Marketplace Manager Guilty of 'Insider Trading' Wire Fraud Scheme and Money Laundering

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On May 3, 2023, a jury found Nathaniel Chastain, a former manager of OpenSea (a major NFT marketplace), guilty of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with his attempts to conceal his use of confidential business...more

Goodwin

Court Denies Dapper Labs’ Motion to Dismiss, Finding That NFTs May Be Securities

Goodwin on

On February 22, 2023, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero of the Southern District of New York denied a motion to dismiss a putative class action brought by purchasers of a non-fungible token (NFT) against Dapper Labs, Inc....more

Carlton Fields

Digital Assets: An Expanding Arena for Insider Trading and Market Manipulation

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Both the SEC and DOJ are creatively and aggressively attacking the use of digital assets as a medium for insider trading or market manipulation. While the jurisdictional battle over digital assets still rages between the SEC...more

Goodwin

2022 Year in Review: Digital Currency and Blockchain Litigation and Enforcement Developments

Goodwin on

Throughout a tumultuous 2022, the digital currency and blockchain space saw a number of significant investigation, litigation, and enforcement matters as regulators continue their laser focus on the industry. This Year in...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

NFT Regulatory Issues – a 2022 Review and 2023 Preview

Despite the minimal regulatory enforcement actions against blockchain game companies and NFT issuers, now is NOT the time to become complacent about regulatory issues. As indicated below, many U.S. agencies are increasing...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

NFT Insider Trading Charge Doesn’t Require the NFT To Be a Security

We previously blogged about the NFT insider trading case against Nathaniel Chastain. He was charged with wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a scheme to commit “insider trading” in Non-Fungible Tokens (“NFTs”)...more

BakerHostetler

Top NFT-Related Cybersecurity, Phishing, Hacking and Other Risks in 2022

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The continued growth of the market for nonfungible tokens (NFTs) in 2022 has helped shape the zeitgeist of what has been referenced colloquially by some as the “fourth industrial revolution,” defined largely by network effect...more

Harris Beach PLLC

OpenSea Case Signals Digital Assets Face Familiar Regulation

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The recent OpenSea insider trading case emphasizes the need for businesses in the digital assets industry to stay abreast of the fast-changing legal landscape surrounding their industry, and also emphasizes that new digital...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

First NFT-based Insider Trading Case Tees Up Important Questions for Digital Asset Fraud Prosecutions

This summer, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York broke new ground in its oversight of fraud involving digital assets when it brought charges against Nathaniel Chastain related to an insider...more

Foley Hoag LLP - White Collar Law &...

New York Federal Prosecutors Indict Defendant in Connection with NFT Insider-Trading Scheme

Federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York recently charged Nathan Chastain with wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a purported scheme to illegally profit from sales and purchases of...more

BakerHostetler

Combatting Fraud and Corruption in the NFT Market

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On Oct. 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the creation of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team to tackle investigations and prosecutions of criminal misuses of cryptocurrency. As the non-fungible...more

BakerHostetler

Top 5 Digital Asset Litigation and Investigation Trends of 2022

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Cryptocurrency and digital assets have kept the courts and regulators busy as digital assets continue to pose new questions and challenges for anyone involved in their sale, trade or development. The following trends have...more

BakerHostetler

NFT Endorsements Scrutinized; Bank Crypto Guidance Issued; DOJ, CFTC and SEC Bring Crypto Enforcement Actions; Research Finds...

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NFTs Expand on Social Media, Celebrity NFT Endorsements Scrutinized - According to reports, one of the world’s largest social media platforms recently expanded its NFT (non-fungible token) initiative, allowing users in...more

ArentFox Schiff

First-of-a-Kind Crypto Insider Trading Prosecution: SEC-v-Wahi et al Action May Have Broad Implications Across the Digital Asset...

ArentFox Schiff on

As use of cryptocurrency investment has increased throughout the world, regulators have faced a bevy of novel questions, especially related to applying different strains of law to regulate novel digital assets. To date,...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

SEC and Department of Justice Announce Parallel Crypto 'Insider Trading' Charges as Regulators and Congress Wrangle over...

On July 21, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced parallel civil and criminal actions against a former product manager at Coinbase...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Cryptocurrency Insider Trading Case Could Have Broader Ramifications for the Industry

On July 21, 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) each brought insider trading charges against a former Coinbase product manager, his brother and a close friend for using...more

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

OpenSea Employee Arrested in First NFT Insider Trading Case

Earlier this month, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced the first ever indictment for insider trading of digital assets. According to the indictment, in 2021 Nathaniel Chastain was...more

Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co.

First US Indictment for NFT Insider Trading Offenses

A few days ago, the SEC has charged a former employee of OpenSea (the largest NFT marketplace) In the first-ever digital asset indictment. SEC charged him with wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a scheme to...more

Cranfill Sumner LLP

Department of Justice Takes Historic Step in Charging Former NFT Insider for Wire Fraud and Money Laundering in Connection with...

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A product manager at OpenSea, a $13 billion online marketplace for non-fungible-tokens (“NFTs”), was indicted in the first-ever “insider-trading” action brought against a person using blockchain-based assets to allegedly...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

NFT Insider Trading – Can There Be A Crime If It’s Not A Security?

We have previously addressed the recent indictment against Nathaniel Chastain, a former executive of a major NFT marketplace, for insider trading involving NFTs. The indictment charges Chastain with one count of wire fraud...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

NFT Insider Trading Compliance Policies – What They Cover and Why You Need One

It is well known that insider trading—the practice of buying and selling stocks, bonds, or other securities based on material, non-public information—is unlawful. For that reason, many companies have compliance programs and...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

‘Insider Trading’ and NFTs: What Should Companies Be Doing?

The recent indictment of an employee of OpenSea, a prominent NFT marketplace, highlights the risk of trading digital assets based on the improper use of confidential information, even where the digital asset is not a...more

Seward & Kissel LLP

Former OpenSea Employee Charged with Insider Trading in NFTs; Could This be a “One-Off” or Sign of Future Actions?

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On June 1, 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced the indictment of former OpenSea employee Nathaniel Chastain for an NFT “insider trading” scheme. From at least June to...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

SEC Investigating Lack of Insider Trading Policies for NFT/Crypto Exchanges

For quite some time, we have been advising that marketplaces and NFT/crypto issuers consider developing an insider trading policy. The SEC is now investigating this issue. If you do not have a policy this is a good time to do...more

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