Summary
TLDR: Coinbase insider accused of securities fraud in secondary token sales, faces default judgment after allegedly fleeing the country. SEC claims insider trading led to $1 million profit, majority of tokens involved were securities. Judge rules in favor of SEC due to reasonable expectation of profit. Ramani’s default judgment allows SEC allegations to go unchallenged. Coinbase also battling SEC over claims of offering unregistered securities.
Key Points
1. A court ruled that secondary token sales by a Coinbase insider were securities, leading to a default judgment against the accused individual who allegedly left the country.
2. The Securities and Exchange Commission accused Ishan Wahi, an ex-Coinbase employee, of insider trading in 2022, marking the first case of its kind. Wahi, along with his brother and another individual, generated around $1 million in profit from buying and selling crypto assets, with the SEC alleging that nine of those assets were securities.
3. Judge Tana Lin agreed with the SEC’s allegations, stating that the tokens in question fell under the definition of an investment contract due to the individuals’ reasonable expectation of profit derived from the efforts of others. Ramani, one of the accused, did not appear in court, leading to a default judgment being issued against him.