Ex-Coinbase Employee Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Conspiracy

• Former Coinbase employee Ishan Wahi pled guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
• He and his brother Nikhil and associate Sameer Ramani were accused of insider trading in cryptocurrency assets.
• The three generated $1.5 million in profits, and Ishan Wahi faces up to 20 years in prison.

Former Coinbase Employee Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud

The United States Department of Justice announced that former Coinbase employee Ishan Wahi pled guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The DOJ announced on Tuesday that Ishan Wahi, an ex-Coinbase product manager charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the first-ever insider trading case related to cryptocurrencies, pleaded guilty.

Accused Generated $1.5 Million in Illegal Profits

Wahi tipped off his brother and associate „regarding crypto assets that were going to be listed on Coinbase exchanges.“ According to reports by the New York Times, Mr. Wahi began working on Coinbase’s asset listing team in October 2020, which gave him access to information about which cryptocurrency Coinbase would offer on its platform. The price of a cryptocurrency tends to go up when a major exchange such as Coinbase announces it will list it. Ishan Wahi provided information regarding these listings to his brother Nikhil and associate Sameer Ramani. According to prosecutors, the data allowed Mr. Wahi’s co-accused to execute profitable trades secretly. The three accused were estimated to be involved in trades that used information about 14 listings and generated around $1.5 million in profits.

Ishan Scheduled for Sentencing

Ishan Wahi is scheduled to be sentenced on May 10 and faces up