“We Will Refer Bad Actors to the Law,” Says Coinbase CEO

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has responded to the news of a former employee being arrested for insider trading. The CEO claims that the arrested employee was fired from their company in April as a result of their internal investigation into illegal activities in the company.

Ishan Wahi, a product manager at the cryptocurrency exchange, and his brother Nikhil Wahi were arrested in Seattle on Thursday.

Armstrong explains the incident in a five-part Twitter thread. “At Coinbase, we actively monitor for illegal activity and investigate any alleged misconduct,” begins the tech entrepreneur.

In April, we received information about possible frontrunning of assets shortly before being listed on Coinbase. We immediately launched an investigation into this.

The CEO goes on to explain that as a result of their internal investigation, they identified three suspects and provided this information to law enforcement. One person was a Coinbase employee who the exchange immediately terminated. Today, the U.S. Department of Justice criminally charged this former employee and the two other individuals for the abusive conduct.

Expressing his gratitude to his team and to law enforcement, Armstrong says, “I want to thank our Legal, Security, Special Investigations, and Global Intelligence teams for their quick action and work on this. We appreciate the DOJ’s recognition of our help in holding these individuals accountable.”

Armstrong adds that this is a great reminder for everyone in crypto, and at Coinbase, that frontrunning is illegal and erodes trust. “We will investigate and refer bad actors to law enforcement, and they will face real legal consequences including serving prison time.”