Former product lead at OpenSea facing charges for insider trading; Prosecutor: NFTs may be new, but the crime pattern is not.

In September 2021, ChainNews reported that former OpenSea Head of Product, Nate Chastain, was accused of being involved in insider trading to profit from advance knowledge, leveraging his business advantage to conduct multiple trades ahead of time and gain significant profits. Chastain has resigned after the incident, and OpenSea has implemented conflict of interest policies.

In September 2021, former OpenSea product lead Nate Chastain was accused of engaging in insider trading to profit from pre-listed NFTs, leveraging his position to conduct multiple pre-list trades for substantial gains. Chastain has since resigned following the incident, and OpenSea has implemented conflict of interest policies.

In June of this year, Nathaniel Chastain, the former product lead at OpenSea, was charged by Manhattan prosecutors for allegedly engaging in insider trading at OpenSea, marking the first-ever case of insider trading involving digital assets. Prosecutors claim that Chastain used his position to pre-purchase select NFTs listed on the OpenSea front page and sold them at two to five times the price for profit. For example, Spectrum of a Ramenfication Theory.

The prosecutors allege that this pattern persisted from June to September 2021, longer than initially observed by whistleblowers from August to September. Prosecutor Damian Williams stated, "NFTs may be a new thing, but this type of criminal conduct is not. This indictment underscores the office's commitment to rooting out insider trading, whether in the stock market or on the blockchain."

Regarding the allegations of wire fraud and money laundering, Chastain has not pleaded guilty, and his legal team is confident in winning the case.