Former OpenSea Executive Arrested, Charged in First-Ever NFT ‘Insider Trading’ Case

A NFT (Non-Fungible Token) created by Nigerian digital artist FreddieJacobArt as featured on the OpenSea NFT marketplace, displayed on a phone, and Binance NFT marketplace displayed on a computer screen. Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images

A former executive at the largest online marketplace for buying and selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has been charged with insider trading in a first-of-its-kind case for the Justice Department (DOJ).

Nate Chastain, a former product manager at New York-based OpenSea, was apprehended in New York on Wednesday before appearing in the U.S. court for the Southern District of New York, the DOJ said in a press release.