The Coinbase mole: How one insider tried to game crypto and got burned, now likely to be deported after 2 years in jail

Ishan Wahi, 35, thought he cracked the code. 

His job: the highly confidential process of listing crypto assets on Coinbase's exchanges.

As a product manager on Coinbase’s asset-listing team, he had an advanced access to the most detailed and valuable secret in crypto: which tokens were about to drop on America’s biggest exchange. 

Everyone knew the “Coinbase effect” was real — prices could pump 50% overnight just from a listing.

Coinbase is the largest US-based crypto exchange and one of the most widely used platforms globally.

For many investors, it serves as a “safe zone” — a vetted space in a market still largely unregulated.

So from June 2021 to April 2022, Wahi used his privileged access and fed inside tips to his brother Nikhil and buddy Sameer Ramani.

Ishan and Nikhil were Seattle residents when this was going on, while Sameer lived in Houston. 

Using anonymous Ethereum wallets, they bought tokens in advance, flipped them after listings, and pocketed $1.5 million in less than a year, as per Bloomberg.

But in April 2022, a suspicious tweet from a crypto sleuth flagged unusual trading activity ahead of multiple Coinbase listings. 

The internet did what it does best — dug through blockchain records.

By July, the DOJ and SEC filed charges in the first-ever US crypto insider trading case.

The SEC's complaint, filed on July 21, 2022, in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleged that, while employed at Coinbase, Ishan helped coordinate the platform’s public listing announcements that included what crypto assets would be made available for trading. 

According to the complaint, Coinbase treated such information as “confidential” – and specifically warned employees not to trade on the basis of, or tip others with, that information. 

However, from at least June 2021 to April 2022, in breach of his duties, Ishan repeatedly tipped the timing and content of upcoming listing announcements to his brother, Nikhil, and his friend, Sameer Ramani. 

Ahead of those announcements, which usually resulted in an increase in the assets’ prices, Nikhil and Ramani allegedly purchased at least 25 crypto assets.

At least nine of which were securities, and then typically sold them shortly after the announcements for a profit. 

“While the technologies at issue in this case may be new, the conduct is not,” the SEC said in a statement in May 2023. 

Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the US SEC’s Division of Enforcement, said: “The federal securities laws do not exempt crypto asset securities from the prohibition against insider trading, nor does the SEC.”

Ishan tried to flee — booking a one-way flight to India — but FBI agents nabbed him at the airport before takeoff. 

His brother pleaded guilty first. 

Ishan held out, but in February 2023 he admitted guilt. By May 2023, Judge Loretta Preska handed him two years in federal prison.

Wahi's prison term is to be followed by two years of supervised release and he's likely to be deported to India, according to Bloomberg.

The story does not end there.

On May 15, 2025, Coinbase dropped a bombshell — hackers managed the ultimate sneaky move, stealing personal data from tens of thousands of customers in the biggest security oopsie in the company’s history. 

How’d they pull it off? 

By slipping bribes to overseas customer support agents, turning them into data moles spilling secrets, according to Fortune. 

The company says the hackers stole the data of over 69,000 customers, but did not say how many of these had been victims of so-called social engineering scams.

This costly caper is set to sting Coinbase’s wallet by up to $400 million. But Coinbase isn’t just hiding under the covers — they fired the insiders, slapped a $20 million bounty on the culprits.

Fortune reported that the breach was not enough for hackers to break into Coinbase’ crypto vaults. 

The message was loud and clear: crypto isn’t a loophole. Insider trading is insider trading. Even the blockchain remembers everything.

#1. Confidential information must remain confidential: Employees with access to sensitive company data, such as upcoming asset listings, have a legal and ethical responsibility to keep that information private. Using, or tipping others to use, such information for personal gain is illegal and a violation of trust. 

#2. Crypto markets are subject to insider trading Laws: The case established that US federal securities and fraud laws apply to cryptocurrency assets just as they do to traditional financial instruments. Crypto is not a legal grey area — insider trading laws are enforced, and violators can face serious criminal penalties. 

#3. Ethics and oversight are critical: The conviction shows that the rapid growth and evolving nature of the fast-emerging crypto industry require strong compliance systems and ethical standards. Companies and employees must be vigilant, as regulators are increasingly focused on rooting out misconduct in the sector.