DOJ files first criminal charges against cryptocurrency insider trading scheme

The Department of Justice put bad actors in the cryptocurrency community on notice Wednesday by filing the first-ever criminal charges against an alleged digital asset insider trading scheme.

The DOJ charged Nathaniel Chastain, a former product manager with OpenSea, a non-fungible token marketplace, with wire fraud and money laundering for allegedly using nonpublic insider information on what tokens were going to be featured on OpenSea's front page for his personal financial gain. NFTs are digital assets on the blockchain used to represent ownership of artwork, collectibles, and real-world items.