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

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

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

Monad SR Report Graphic.png

Research

Monad is a new Layer 1 blockchain designed as a high performance, EVM-compatible platform.

article-image

Engineers from MetaMask, Coinbase, Google, and the Ethereum Foundation make the case for onchain AI agents via ERC-8004

article-image

Legacy payments firm partners with Anchorage Digital to issue a dollar-pegged token under new US stablecoin law

by Blockworks /
article-image

As Solana ETFs launch but network REV trends lower, Jito sits at the intersection of new capital inflows and microstructure improvements

article-image

The Truth Social parent will integrate Crypto.com Derivatives North America, allowing users to trade prediction contracts under federal oversight

by Blockworks /
article-image

Partnership surpasses $2 billion in staked assets and adds support for new Proof-of-Stake networks

by Blockworks /
article-image

The tokenization leader will merge with Cantor Equity Partners II, becoming the first public firm focused on securities tokenization

by Blockworks /