Executives at Coinbase are being sued for insider trading

Executives and investors of Coinbase, the second largest cryptocurrency exchange, are accused of selling $2.9 billion worth of shares. Which they did before the publication of negative information, which influenced the collapse of prices. Crypto-Upvotes expert review

The head of Coinbase, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, Brian Armstrong. As well as its board member Mark Andriessen and other company officials avoided more than $1 billion in losses while using insider information, according to a lawsuit filed by one of the company’s investors.

He estimated that they sold Coinbase (COIN) stock within days of the cryptocurrency platform’s public offering two years ago. In doing so, knowing of “bad news” that would affect the further collapse of quotations.

The company’s board of directors conducted a so-called direct listing. Instead of a typical initial public offering and quickly sold off $2.9 billion worth of stock before Coinbase management disclosed “significant negative information. Which negated the market’s optimism after the company’s first quarterly earnings report. said in a complaint filed in Delaware state court.

“In five weeks, the value of these shares fell by more than $1 billion. And Coinbase’s market capitalization fell by more than $37 billion,” claims Adam Grabski, speaking on behalf of investors. He says he has held Coinbase stock since April 2021.

Armstrong sold $291.8 million worth of Coinbase stock in a direct listing. Says the complaint, and Andrissen’s venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, sold $118.6 million worth of stock.

“As the most popular and only publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. We are sometimes the subject of bizarre litigation,” Coinbase representatives wrote in a commentary for Bloomberg.

The lawsuit lists the main beneficiaries of the stock sale. Among them are Andreessen Horowitz Group (sold $118.6 million worth of stock) and CEO Brian Armstrong (sold for $291.9 million). As well as COO Emily Choi (sold for $223.9 million), co-founder and board member Fred Ehrsam (sold for $219.4 million) and others.

Union Square Ventures, an investment firm owned by Fred Ehrsam, sold $1.8 billion worth of stock. According to the lawsuit, the company led the Series A funding round for Coinbase. In doing so, it invested $5 million at 20 cents a share, valuing the company at about $20 million. The stock sale was “the largest exit in the firm’s history,” Grabski claims.