Insider trading rampant in crypto market, new study claims

The crypto market is plagued with “systematic” insider trading, with about a quarter of Coinbase listings under suspicion of such activity, a new study claims.

The paper titled “Insider Trading in Cryptocurrency Market” says that insider trading occurred on 10-25% of crypto listings on San Francisco-based Coinbase between September 2018 and May 2022, resulting in at least $1.5 million in illegal profits.

Prosecution
“Our findings identify cases that are yet to be prosecuted,” the researchers from Sydney’s University of Technology write in the paper.

The fresh allegations come after the Justice Department recently charged former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi with crimes linked to insider trading while working at the exchange platform.

Unfounded
Of the latest claim, an unnamed source familiar with crypto trading practices says the new study “jumps to conclusions” without providing clear evidence by identifying specific wallet addresses that front-ran token listings.

The researchers, however, say they examined 146 Coinbase listings and tracked prices for hundreds of hours before each new listing went live to look for abnormal trading patterns.