Coinbase Asks for $470,000 To Cover Fees, Costs From Insider Trading Case

Coinbase said it hopes to recover losses incurred due to investigations by the Department of Justice and the SEC

article-image

photo_gonzo/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Coinbase requested $470,000 to cover costs and fees stemming from investigations into former Coinbase employee Ishan Wahi and his brother and accomplice, Nikhil. Both are accused of insider trading and wire fraud.

In a letter dated April 3, a lawyer representing Coinbase asked for restitution to cover the costs it said occurred during the investigations by the Department of Justice and the SEC.

The total amount would fall under the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act which states that victims are entitled to both expenses and lost income from investigation participation of some offenses — including wire fraud.

Over $400,000 would cover ”five grand jury subpoenas served on Coinbase with 65 total requests (including subparts) for documents and information” from the DOJ’s investigation. Additionally, the exchange requested $60,000 in lost wages for employees who had to work alongside the Special Investigation and Security Departments of the DOJ. 

The Wahi brothers and Sameer Ramani were accused of trading over 25 crypto assets on Coinbase between June 2021 and April 2022, which allegedly netted them a profit of over $1 million.

Ishan Wahi faces sentencing on May 9. Nikhil was sentenced in January to 10 months in prison.

In a joint notice filed earlier this week, lawyers from both sides announced an “agreement in principle” to resolve the SEC’s claims that the brothers traded securities — which both the Wahis and Coinbase have denied.

In a blog post last year, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal wrote, “Coinbase does not list securities on its platform. Period.” 

According to the document filed with the court, the SEC asked for its opposition deadline — originally set for April 6 — to be pushed back to June 15, which would give both parties time to discuss the settlement and review it. The Wahi brothers will have until July 15 to reply.

David Miller of Greenberg Traurig, which represents Ishan Wahi, had no comment when contacted. Nikhil Wahi’s counsel, Priya Chaudhry of ChaudhryLaw PLLC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


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.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Maple Finance has successfully navigated significant market challenges through its strategic pivot to secured lending (Maple v2) and the launch of its Syrup product. Syrup has become a primary growth driver, delivering sustainable, outperforming stablecoin yields and rapidly increasing TVL. The upcoming custody-first Bitcoin staking product (istBTC) presents another significant avenue for expansion. Crucially, Maple has achieved operational profitability, a key inflection point that, combined with a fully vested token and active buyback mechanism, strengthens its investment case. While valuation metrics suggest potential undervaluation relative to peers and growth, the primary forward-looking risk identified is the long-term sustainability of its current high-take-rate collateral staking revenue model.

article-image

Funds disagree about which metrics matter, but agree fundamentals are key

article-image

PGP creator Phil Zimmermann’s connection with Bitcoin is complicated

article-image

Blockworks spoke with a dozen current and former employees about the problems that have plagued Bitget’s blockchain, Morph

article-image

Perpl, a perps DEX, plans to launch testnet by the end of this year

article-image

A recent Citi report predicted that stablecoin AUM could hit $3.7 trillion by 2030, largely because of institutional adoption

article-image

The startup hopes to reduce crypto’s reliance on AWS and Google Cloud