Is Crypto a Security? Insider Trading Case Leads to DOJ, SEC Scrutiny

Just one month after bringing the first ever insider trading case involving NFTs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has charged three men in an alleged insider trading scheme involving cryptocurrency. This is the first case in which prosecutors have alleged insider trading of cryptocurrencies. At the same time as the DOJ’s announcement of criminal charges, the SEC filed a companion civil case in Seattle federal court alleging that the three men engaged in insider trading and arguing that some of the assets involved were “securities” under federal securities law.