On September 16, 2021, Robert Heim, Partner and Co-Chair of the White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement Practice was quoted in the New York Magazine Intelligencer article, “A Very, Very Crypto Insider-Trading Scandal.” The article delves into the alleged unfair non-fungible tokens (NFTs) trading practices by an NFT company executive and the legal jeopardy he may face from federal regulators.

Robert notes, “This sort of activity is going to, unfortunately, lead people to be less trusting of the crypto markets and give regulators more ammunition to want to regulate.” He explains that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not categorized NFTs as securities  under the federal securities laws. However, Chair of the SEC Gary Gensler could potentially argue that these unfair practices justify the SEC taking a more aggressive stance and possibly file a civil action against the executive. Robert concludes saying, “The DOJ could conceivably look at this situation under the lens of a wire-fraud case,” and other federal agencies may decide to also pursue a case.

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