Coinbase Insider Trader Gets 10 Months In Prison

A crypto first sees an insider trader who profited on early knowledge of Coinbase listings sentenced to almost a year in the clink

article-image

Exclusive art by Axel Rangel, modified by Blockworks

share

The brother of a former Coinbase product manager has been sentenced to 10 months’ prison after earning almost $900,000 in a crypto insider trading scheme.

US authorities charged Nikhil Wahi last July, alongside brother Ishan and friend Sameer Ramani, over a scheme to profit from advanced knowledge of Coinbase listings.

Wahi pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in front of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of New York in September last year. His brother Ishan has pleaded not guilty and Ramani has yet to make an appearance in the case.

“I made a huge mistake, a terrible mistake,” Wahi told US District Judge Loretta Preska on Tuesday. “It’s something that I will have to live with forever.”

Wahi received multiple tips between July 2021 and May 2022 from his brother on confidential information around cryptocurrencies to be listed on Coinbase before public announcements.

He used undisclosed Ethereum wallets to purchase the cryptocurrencies prior to public announcements and sold them for a profit once the listings were made public.

According to an earlier statement, Wahi would conceal his identity by using others’ accounts at centralized exchanges to transfer “funds, crypto assets, and proceeds of their scheme through multiple anonymous Ethereum blockchain wallets.”

“Wahi admitted in court today that he traded in crypto assets based on Coinbase’s confidential business information to which he was not entitled,” US Attorney Damian Williams previously said. “For the first time ever, a defendant has admitted his guilt in an insider trading case involving the cryptocurrency markets.”

In addition to the prison sentence, Bloomberg noted Wahi will forfeit all profits made from the trading scheme.

Wahi’s sentence comes soon after former FTX executives pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges, reminding Web3 users that it is “not a law-free zone,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (2).png

Research

We’re bullish on the PUMP token. We believe Pump.fun's brand strength, existing integrations, product roadmap, and strategic levers justify PUMP's TGE valuation, and expect the token to re-rate meaningfully higher in the months ahead.

article-image

Big blockers wasted a bitcoin fortune trying to prove a point

article-image

Coinbase’s newest acquisition includes the CEO and Head of Research from Opyn

article-image

Crypto’s highest purpose might be to make markets better by making them bigger

article-image

The non-profit’s “Project Open” seeks to let stocks trade directly on Solana

article-image

The acquisition is Pump.fun’s first, and comes just days before its planned ICO

article-image

As Trump’s tariff war reignites, everyone is assuming the dollar will continue its path lower. But the journey might be bumpy