Appeals court overturns Nate Chastain’s conviction in OpenSea insider trading case
Former OpenSea employee Nathaniel Chastain has successfully appealed his judgment of conviction for wire fraud and money laundering.
A US federal appeals court has overturned the conviction of Nathaniel Chastain, a former OpenSea manager found guilty of wire fraud and money laundering for using insider information to trade non-fungible tokens.
In a Thursday decision, the Second Circuit ruled that the jury was improperly instructed and could have convicted Chastain for unethical conduct rather than misappropriating a traditional property interest, a requirement under federal fraud statutes.
Chastain was initially charged with insider trading in June 2022, tied to OpenSea NFT collectibles he bought and sold the previous year. In 2023, he was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering, receiving a three-month prison sentence and a $50,000 fine.