Ex-OpenSea employee accused of insider trading appeals verdict

Lawyers for former OpenSea head of product Nathaniel Chastain filed an appeal against the indictment against him.

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In June, a jury found him guilty of fraud and money laundering in a scheme involving insider trading on the OpenSea marketplace.

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In the motion, the lawyers argued that internet fraud is associated with securities and commodities. However, NFTs are neither, they added.

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The lawyers also contend that authorities cannot substantiate treating crypto transactions as financial transactions under anti-money laundering rules.

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“The government initiated the prosecution, using an unfounded application of criminal law to set a precedent in the digital assets space,” — the specialists concluded.

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Earlier, in September 2021 OpenSea terminated the employment of an unnamed employee involved in insider trading. This coincided with Chastain’s departure from the company, who was suspected of wrongdoing. His arrest on June 1, 2022.

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Earlier, Huobi accused the former employee of illegal trading. According to media reports, he allegedly opened a retail trading account in his father’s name and provided a $20 million line of credit from the exchange for subsequent trading.

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