Ex-Coinbase Manager Settles Insider Trading Case with SEC

Ex-Coinbase manager settles insider trading case

A former Coinbase manager and his brother were sentenced to two years, and ten months in prison, respectively, for insider trading, the SEC confirmed in a press release published earlier this week. As per the report, product manager Ishan Wahi and his brother, Nikhil Wahi, pleaded guilty to insider trading, buying tokens they knew were about to be listed on Coinbase, and then selling them quickly after the announcement, for profit. Prosecutors described it as the first ever time someone’s sentenced for crypto insider trading. 

Ishan Wahi was also ordered to return 10.97 ether and 9,440 Tether, while his brother was told to return $892,500. A third member of the group, Sameer Ramani, remains at large, Reuters reported. 

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Chainalysis acquires Transpose

Crypto analytics powerhouse Chainalysis acquired Web3 data and infrastructure company, Transpose. In a press release published this Tuesday, the company described Transpose as a company that simplifies building applications using web3 data. 

With Transpose, the company claims, developers can improve user experiences, build wallet applications, improve financial activity analysis, and simplify tax and legal compliance. In a tweet announcing the news, Transpose said it’s working on bringing “enterprise-grade, real-time blockchain data” to every developer and analyst. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

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Router Chain hits Testnet with Mandara

Mandara, the testnet for Router Chain, is now live, the project’s leaders announced via Twitter. This means that developers can now start building out their first IDApps. 

IDApps, or Interoperable Apps, allow the developers to connect a decentralized app (dApp) with an entirely unrelated mechanism, or to connect multiple blockchains in order to have them share their unique characteristics. dApps interoperability has long been perceived as the essential next step in the evolution of blockchain. 

Furthermore, Mandara allows external validators to participate in the network, the project further stated. As this brings Router Chain closer to “true decentralization”, the move is described as a major milestone for the project.

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Nansen nicks a third of its workforce

Blockchain analytics platform, Nansen, which adds millions of wallet labels to on-chain data, announced that it’s cutting its workforce by almost a third. In a Twitter thread posted by the company’s CEO, Alex Svanevik, it was said that 30% of the team will have to go, due to growing too quickly and taking on surface area “that’s not truly part of Nansen’s core strategy”, and due to the volatility of the crypto market.

The shrunken team will “do fewer things, but do them extremely well”, the CEO added, further stating that building a sustainable business is of the utmost priority.  “I’m endlessly grateful to the incredible people we are parting ways with,” the CEO concluded.

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Magic raises $52 million from PayPal and friends

Wallet-as-a-service (WaaS) provider, Magic, has announced a new funding round that saw the Web3 firm raise $52 million. In a press release published earlier this week, Magic said the round was led by PayPal Ventures, with significant contributions from Cherubic, Synchrony, KX, Northzone, and Volt Capital. So far, Magic raised more than $80 million.

The company’s goal is to provide “instant” non-custodial wallet creation, thus helping businesses onboard users into Web3 easier. By removing the need for seed phrases and browser extensions, the company aims to make Web3 “indistinguishable” from standard Web2 experiences, thus driving the fabled mass adoption.  The company claims to have created more than 20 million wallets and onboarded more than 130,000 developers.

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Other breaking news

• After unbanning Bitcoin, Hong Kong gets two new exchanges
• Ripple’s XRP hits $0.5 as the SEC case reaches final mile
• Anoma raises $25 million
• SHIB reclaims AAA security rating 
• India’s central bank suggests banks use blockchain tech

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Wrapping up

And there you have it, folks. Another Datawallet newsletter filled with the latest and greatest in all things blockchain. As Magic raises money, and Router Chain reaches an important milestone, Nansen scales down and Chainalysis scales up. Keep reading our newsletter to keep ahead of the curve, and we’ll see you all tomorrow.