Cryptocurrency trade association Chamber of Digital Commerce is urging a federal court to dismiss a case brought by the U.S. securities regulator against ex-Coinbase employees accused of insider trading, arguing that the case unfairly labeled several crypto assets as securities, Reuters reported. The group said in an amicus brief filed Wednesday in a district court in Washington that if the court were to proceed with the case from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), it could have wide-ranging consequences for the digital asset industry and harm crypto investors. The Blockchain Association also filed an amicus brief in the case earlier this month. The SEC brought charges in July against Ishan Wahi, a former product manager at Coinbase, and his brother Nikhil Wahi, as well as their friend Sameer Ramani, accusing them of purchasing and selling at least 25 crypto assets for a profit based on insider knowledge, nine of which the agency said it had identified as securities. Federal prosecutors also brought related criminal charges against the Wahi brothers and Ramani, charging the defendants with wire fraud in the first-ever insider trading case involving cryptocurrency. Ishan Wahi pled guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud earlier this month.
