The first-ever NFT insider trading charge has been brought by the Justice Department against a former OpenSea employee

• former High seas Employees transaction NFT based on insider information from the Ministry of Justice.
• First in history NFT According to the complaint, an insider trading case was filed against Nathaniel Chastain.
• “NFTs may be new, but this type of criminal program is not,” said Damian Williams, a lawyer in the United States.

The Justice Department has charged a former OpenSea employee with the first-ever NFT Insider trading Wednesday’s case.

Nathaniel Chastain is said to have purchased dozens NFT Before they are posted on the OpenSea homepage The Justice Ministry said. According to DOJ, the NFT capabilities of the OpenSea website, the largest trading platform for digital art collections, often benefit from immediate and significant price increases.

The information Chastain used to purchase the NFT before it was posted on the OpenSea website was confidential. Chastain was a former OpenSea product manager who was responsible for selecting NFTs for posting on the website’s home page. It is customary for OpenSea to keep NFT functionality confidential until it is posted on the home page.

Chastain has a high degree of knowledge about which NFTs will be posted on the website and is said to have purchased dozens of NFTs based on sensitive information from June 2021 to September 2021. .. price.

Chastain purchased an NFT at OpenSea using an anonymous cryptocurrency wallet and an anonymous account to hide his footsteps.But Twitter detective I was able to identify Chastain as a legitimate owner The number of anonymous accounts in September, OpenSea said in a statement that it is aware of insider trading. The NFT Marketplace has since implemented a new policy to prevent future insider trading between employees.

“As the world’s leading web3 marketplace for NFTs, trust and integrity are at the heart of everything we do. When we learn of Nate’s actions, we start investigating and eventually leave him. His actions violated the policies of our employees. They are in direct conflict with our core values ​​and principles. ”

Chastain was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with wire fraud and money laundering. Each of these will be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

“NFTs may be new, but this type of crime scheme isn’t … Today’s accusations show the firm’s commitment to eradicate insider trading, whether in the stock market or blockchain. “We have,” said Damian Williams, a US lawyer.