Ex-OpenSea Manager Nate Chastain Guilty of NFT Fraud, Money Laundering

NFT insider trading isn’t worth apeing into

article-image

Diego Thomazini/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Nathaniel Chastain, a former manager at OpenSea, was convicted by a jury of wire fraud and money laundering on Wednesday, May 3, marking the culmination of a landmark case with broad implications for the NFT industry. The case has been described as the first ‘insider trading’ prosecution brought within the NFT world.

Chastain pleaded not guilty, and the industry has been paying especially close attention to a potentially precedent-setting outcome since the jury began deliberating earlier this week

In June 2022, Chastain was charged with wire fraud and money laundering by the Department of Justice. 

Chastain allegedly made over $50,000 by “using his knowledge of confidential information to purchase dozens of NFTs in advance of them being featured on OpenSea’s homepage,” according to the FBI’s Michael Driscoll in a statement last year. 

Reuters reported that prosecutor Thomas Burnett, in closing arguments, said that Chastain “abused” his status at OpenSea, and violated its confidentiality agreement. 

Chastain’s lawyer, Daniel Filor, argued that he did not break any company rules with the trades.

OpenSea asked Chastain to resign in September 2021, when the NFT powerhouse additionally said it was putting in place new practices to prevent similar future internal lapses.  

An OpenSea spokesperson previously told Blockworks that Chastain’s resignation was because he was found to be “in violation of our employee policies and in direct conflict with our core values and principles.”

Prior to the start of the trial, OpenSea CEO told prosecutors that the case against Chastain was “unfair” and that it impacted his mental health, according to court documents. 

Chastain had filed five motions to drop evidence in regard to his OpenSea compensation and exclude terms such as insider trading–arguing that NFTs are not securities.

However, Judge Jesse Furman denied the motions and said that Chastain’s insider trading arguments were “moot” in April.

Updated May 3, 2023 at 7:36 pm ET: Added additional context throughout.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research

article-image

Bitcoin needs a price, but its magic runs deeper

article-image

Circle had a pretty successful first day of trading, but what’s next for the stablecoin issuer?

article-image

Solana’s USDC caught a boost after being paired with the TRUMP memecoin

article-image

The stablecoin issuer’s successful first day of trading is likely to spur more crypto IPOs, industry watchers say

article-image

Job openings rallied and continuing claims stalled ahead of May’s employment report

article-image

A group of Twitch streamers battle for bitcoin. Will their chats help them?