Ishan Wahi, a former product manager at Coinbase, has officially admitted guilt to two counts of conspiracy relating to wire fraud in the recent insider trading case reported by Reuters.
Prosecutors accused Wahi of providing insider information to his brother, Nikhil Wahi, and a friend. This resulted in an alleged revenues of $1.5 million for the parties involved. Already having pled guilty at an earlier hearing, Nikhil was given 10 months imprisonment as punishment for his involvement in the case.
Ishan Wahi’s case is a testament to the U.S government’s increasingly abrasive stance on cryptocurrency insider trading, with authorities opting for wire fraud charges instead of criminal securities fraud allegations. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also initiated proceedings against him by filing a civil lawsuit arguing that the tokens involved in this incident are indeed securities.
Yesterday, Wahi’s legal counsel submitted a motion to terminate the case, stating that tokens lack features of an “investment contract”, are operational and independent from third-party intermediaries.
In the crypto market, POWR is one of many tokens that are gaining attention. PowerLedger created this token and their website boasts about its success on Coinbase resulting in record-high prices.
Not only does LCX.COM have the privilege of using its own token, LCX, but RLY has achieved a remarkable feat in being able to shutter their sidechain and pointing towards having a centralized middleman. Wahi’s legal team has granted the SEC until April 6 to reply to their initial filing.