NFTs

OpenSea admits there was insider trading during NFT sale

NFT platform OpenSea has launched an internal investigation after discovering one of its employees may be guilty of insider trading.

The world’s largest NFT marketplace confirmed an employee was using confidential information to purchase private NFT (non-fungible token) artworks and immediately reselling them publicly at an inflated price.

According to OpenSea, eagle-eyed Twitter users exposed some crucial details that pointed to the activity.

In its statement, OpenSea described the revelation as “is incredibly disappointing”.

“Yesterday we learned that one of our employees purchased items that they knew were set to display on our front page before they appeared there publicly,” it said.

Trading records show that, at 1.05am in New York on Tuesday, a user bought “Spectrum of a Ramenfication Theory” for 0.25 ETH ($880).

According to the available information, it was resold for a six-fold return 21 minutes later, rousing suspicion among observers.

Soon after the re-sale, the anonymous wallet relocated approximately 7 ETH to a different account.

Teuta Franjkovic

Starting out as a staff writer with Cosmopolitan, Teuta has risen through the ranks of business journalism, editing daily newspapers and websites in the IT and economics industries. With a passion for creating opportunities and bringing people together, Teuta turned her attention to the world of crypto and blockchain. She holds a double MA in Public Politics and Entrepreneurship.