OpenSea Ex-Manager Faces Imprisonment for NFT Insider Trading, Requests Bail

• Ex-Manager at Opensea, Nathaniel Chastain, gets 3-month prison term for NFT insider trading.
• U.S. Attorney Damian Williams emphasizes Chastain’s breach of trust and betrayal of employer’s confidence.
• Chastain is fined $50,000, sentenced to home confinement and supervised release, with Ethereum proceeds forfeited.

Former Product Manager Nathaniel Chastain of Ozone Networks, also known as OpenSea, has been sentenced to three months in prison for the first-ever insider trading involving Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, who oversaw the sentencing, underscored the seriousness of Chastain’s breach of trust. Williams stated, “Nathanial Chastain faced justice today for violating the trust that his employer placed in him.”

Chastain, 31, a resident of New York City, has not only been sentenced to prison but also to three months of home confinement, three years of supervised release, and a $50,000 fine. Furthermore, the Ethereum he earned from trading the featured NFTs will be forfeited.

Chastain’s case took an intriguing twist as his defense team requested bail pending appeal. During the hearing, after the Judge announced Chastain has until November 2 to surrender himself, the defense made their request for bail. “Put it in writing before Nov. 2… Adjourned,” the judge responded.

On June 1, 2022, a criminal case was unsealed that marked the first-ever NFT insider trading, charging Chastain with wire fraud and money laundering. Nearly a year later, on May 3, a federal jury in New York found the former NFT marketplace manager guilty of these charges.

The lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) accuses Chastain of abusing his role, exploiting confidential information for personal financial gain. Chastain’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit was countered by evidence of his attempts to conceal his actions.

“Today’s sentence should serve as a warning to other corporate insiders that insider trading – in any marketplace – will not be tolerated, ” said Attorney Williams, emphasizing that the sentence sends a strong message.

On May 9, shortly after Chastain’s conviction, another former product manager, Ishan Wahi, of Coinbase, was sentenced to two years in prison for the same case. This is the second instance that the DOJ prosecuted insider trading in cryptocurrency.