Coinbase accused of inside trading as ETH address buys $400,000 worth of tokens before listing announcement

Someone bought six coins out of a list of 50 different tokens the exchange plans to list in Q2 2022.

A stock image of a man hiding a white theatre mask behind his back.

Cobie, a pseudonymous crypto influencer on Twitter, found that the ETH address bought NDX, KROM, RADAR, RAC, DFX, and PAPER tokens about 24 hours before Coinbase issued an official statement. These multiple purchases of small illiquid tokens that coincided with an upcoming listing convinced the crypto community on Twitter that some Coinbase employees may be profiting off insider trading.

According to the exchange’s policy, “Coinbase restricts all employees from trading the tokens it is considering for listing to make sure no one at Coinbase is front running assets, even if they don’t work on our asset listings team.”