News & Analysis as of

Digital Assets Wire Fraud

Quinn Emanuel

The White Collar Appeal: Fourth Circuit Chips Away at Ciminelli, Closes Its Eyes to Cleveland

Quinn Emanuel on

In the United States, a nonprofit called the American Registry for Internet Numbers (“ARIN”) is responsible for the assignment of IP addresses, the unique identifiers assigned to each device that connects to the Internet....more

DLA Piper

Blockchain and Digital Assets News and Trends – August 2025

DLA Piper on

This periodic bulletin is designed to help companies identify important legal developments governing the use and acceptance of blockchain technology, smart contracts, and digital assets....more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Second Circuit Vacates Fraud Conviction in First Crypto “Insider Trading” Case

In United States v. Chastain, No. 23-7038, 2025 WL 2165839 (2d Cir. July 31, 2025), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated wire fraud and money laundering convictions in what the government...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Recent Developments in the Law of Federal Property Fraud: It’s a Long and Winding Road

In two recent high-profile decisions, Chastain v. United States and Johnson v. United States, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed wire fraud convictions that were based on theories resembling insider...more

Benesch

Second Circuit Widens the Gap Between Wire Fraud and Intangible Interests - Confidential Business Information Without Commercial...

Benesch on

The Second Circuit has narrowed the wire fraud statute (18 U.S.C. § 1343), ruling that a fraudulent scheme must target property with actual commercial value to the victim; mere confidential business information...more

Perkins Coie

Second Circuit Narrows Scope of Federal Criminal Fraud Statute in NFT “Insider Trading” Case

Perkins Coie on

In United States v. Chastain, a split panel of the Second Circuit recently vacated the convictions of a former executive of an NFT marketplace who had been charged with misusing confidential information to trade NFTs for...more

DLA Piper

Second Circuit Vacates NFT “Insider Trading” Conviction, Clarifies Property Requirement for Wire Fraud

DLA Piper on

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has vacated the conviction of Nathaniel Chastain, a former employee of non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea. Chastain had been convicted of wire fraud and money...more

Seward & Kissel LLP

Second Circuit Vacates Former OpenSea Employee’s “Insider Trading” Conviction

Seward & Kissel LLP on

On June 1, 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York charged former OpenSea employee Nathaniel Chastain with wire fraud1 for an NFT “insider trading” scheme. At the time, we here at SKrypto asked:...more

A&O Shearman

Second Circuit Vacates Wire Fraud Conviction For “Insider Trading” On NFTs

A&O Shearman on

On July 31, 2025, a divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion vacating the wire fraud and money laundering convictions of a former manager of a marketplace for non-fungible...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Troutman Pepper Locke Weekly Consumer Financial Services Newsletter – April 2025 # 4

Troutman Pepper Locke on

To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal and state events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week....more

Wiley Rein LLP

Crypto & Politics: Insights from Former Congressman David McIntosh

Wiley Rein LLP on

In this episode of the CryptoCounsel at Wiley, host Josh talks with guest David McIntosh, President of the Club for Growth and former Congressman, to explore the intersection of cryptocurrency and politics. They discuss...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

CryptoLink - May 2024 Updates

CryptoLink is a compilation of news stories published by outside organizations. Akin aggregates the stories, but the information contained in them does not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of the firm. Akin's May...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

CryptoLink - February 2024 Updates

CryptoLink is a compilation of news stories published by outside organizations. Akin aggregates the stories, but the information contained in them does not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of the firm. Akin's...more

BakerHostetler

Weekly Blockchain Blog - March 2024

BakerHostetler on

Crypto Exchanges Launch Institutional Platform, LATAM Stablecoin - A major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange recently announced the launch of an institutional platform “aimed at institutions, asset managers, hedge funds and...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

DOJ Relies on Traditional Statutes To Charge Defendants in Cryptoasset Fraud Cases

Two recent indictments highlight the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) continuing use of the traditional wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft statutes to pursue fraud involving digital assets, indicating that law...more

BakerHostetler

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

BakerHostetler on

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

Harris Beach Murtha PLLC

Coinbase Insider Trading Shows Crypto Regulation Has Matured

Prosecution of executives for insider trading is not necessarily headline news – except when the prosecution involves the SEC wading deep into the waters of defining crypto as a security enroute to securing two guilty pleas. ...more

WilmerHale

Criminal Vs. Civil Liability Amid Growing Crypto Enforcement

WilmerHale on

The emergence of digital assets has brought new risks and challenges, including the potential exploitation of the technology to facilitate financial crime. The U.S. Department of Justice has committed to work with its law...more

Proskauer - Corporate Defense and Disputes

Second Circuit Questions Use of Criminal Insider-Trading Statute Without Proof of Receipt of Personal Benefit

The Second Circuit held yesterday that a government agency’s nonpublic, pre-decisional regulatory information does not constitute “property” for purposes of the federal insider-trading and wire-fraud statutes. The decision...more

Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti,...

A House Of Cards Falls Down

Takeaway: Ignorance was not bliss for Samuel Bankman-Fried. The young cryptocurrency entrepreneur faces 8 charges in the Southern District of New York for allegations that his company, FTX, mishandled millions of dollars of...more

Proskauer - Blockchain and the Law

District Court Declines to Dismiss NFT “Insider Trading” Indictment against Former OpenSea Employee

In late October, a New York district court refused to dismiss the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) indictment against defendant Nathaniel Chastain, who was charged with wire fraud and money laundering relating to his using...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

Polsinelli

Concerning Questions Raised by SEC Action Against Former Coinbase Employee

Polsinelli on

On July 21, 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) each alleged insider trading violations against a former Coinbase employee, his brother, and another alleged acquaintance...more

Snell & Wilmer

Enforcement Action by the SEC Heightens Regulatory Uncertainty Surrounding Crypto Assets

Snell & Wilmer on

A recent action brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) against a former Coinbase employee for insider trading in crypto tokens (the “Wahi Action”) highlights the lack of certainty surrounding the...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

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