Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Palestinian platforms: Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under the protection of the occupation police
Palestinian platforms: The IOF detonated a booby-trapped robot east of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Syrian Defense: We call on all parties in Sweida to cooperate with security forces and exercise restraint
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Reality is that there is a very limited retreat of the vehicles, with the occupation forces providing cover undeer fire up to Salah al-Din Street

FBI eyes crypto economy after OpenSea employee arrested

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 3 Jun 2022 14:43
4 Min Read

Nathaniel Chastain, a former NFT marketplace employee, has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering.

  • x
  • FBI eyes crypto economy after OpenSea employee arrested
    OpenSea logo

An ex-employee of the top non-fungible tokens (NFT) marketplace has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering, indicating that US law enforcement will no longer ignore the crypto economy.

After being suspected of insider training, Nathaniel Chastain resigned from his position as a product manager at OpenSea, the largest marketplace for NFTs - the unique crypto assets used to represent ownership of objects such as digital art.

Read more: NFTs lose their hype being 'enormously risky'

On Wednesday, he was detained and charged by the FBI in New York in a case that might be alarming for others in crypto who assumed that practices banned in regulated markets were fair game in their sector.

Chastain is accused of exploiting insider information about which tokens would be featured on the top page of OpenSea's website to acquire them just before they were featured and sell them instantly, profiting from the increased visibility each time.

"NFTs might be new, but this type of criminal scheme is not," said US attorney Damian Williams.

Williams explained that "today's charges demonstrate the commitment of this office to stamping out insider trading-whether it occurs on the stock market or the blockchain."

Related News

A-list Hollywood celebs sued for endorsing digital assets

Premier League signs NFT deal with fantasy sports platform Sorare

At the time, Chastain's reported deals were noticed. Because of the open nature of the NFT market, where all deals are recorded on a public database known as a blockchain, watchers had seen that someone was acquiring digital assets in September 2021 with dubious timing.

The anonymous digital wallet used for the deals was immediately traced to Chastain's own via transactions. OpenSea had not adopted a specific policy prohibiting such insider trading at the time and responded only after Chastain's trades became public.

An apparent insider trading scheme was uncovered on a leading cryptocurrency exchange in May: a user who has not been identified would build up large positions in small cryptocurrencies shortly before they were listed on major exchanges, then sell them for a profit during the subsequent surge of interest.

According to a Wall Street Journal story, one such deal generated a profit of $140,000 on a $360,000 investment in less than a week.

However, prior to Chastain's arrest this week, there was substantial disagreement over whether such activities were lawful, given the sector's diverse norms and practices. For example, the trading in so-called "shitcoins" – crypto-assets generated with no purpose other than to be purchased and sold in a speculative market – is publicly acknowledged to be full of actions that would be unlawful in a regulated market.

According to the pseudonymous "shitcoin influencer" Epitaph, the latest scheme to enhance the value of cryptocurrencies revolves around "Larp tokens". He defined this as "tokens where the team will go to extreme lengths to convince buyers that they’re connected to famous celebrities/musicians/larger tokens."

“It’s no secret that everything we buy is a scam on some level. The question isn’t ‘is this token a scam,’ because they all are, the question is: ‘Is this scam done well enough to convince other people to buy?’”

Chastain's arrest comes as a group of more than 25 cryptocurrency professionals has sent an open letter to the US Congress for stronger regulation of the sector. “We implore you to take a truly responsible approach to technological innovation and ensure that individuals in the US and elsewhere are not left vulnerable to predatory finance, fraud, and systemic economic risks in the name of technological potential which does not exist,” the group said.

Adding to the regulatory pressure, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Gemini, a New York-based cryptocurrency exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, on Thursday, alleging that the company misled regulators about the possibility of bitcoin price manipulation in a successful effort to persuade the agency to allow the creation of a bitcoin futures contract.

According to an OpenSea spokesperson, “When we learned of Nate’s behavior, we initiated an investigation and ultimately asked him to leave the company. His behavior was in violation of our employee policies and in direct conflict with our core values and principles.”

  • NFTs
  • opensea
  • Cryptocurrency
  • FBI

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS