NEW YORK (Reuters) – The brother of a former Coinbase Global Inc product manager pleaded guilty on Monday to a wire fraud conspiracy charge in what U.S. prosecutors have called the first insider trading case involving cryptocurrency.
Nikhil Wahi said in a virtual court hearing before U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska that he made trades based on confidential Coinbase information.
Prosecutors say Ishan Wahi, the former product manager, shared confidential information with his brother and their friend Sameer Ramani about forthcoming announcements of new digital assets that Coinbase would allow users to trade.
Ishan Wahi has pleaded not guilty. Ramani, who was also charged, is at large.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum)