Insider trading typically evokes the idea of a well-connected investor using secret information to profit from stock trades. Now, a federal judge has allowed the Justice Department to use the same kind of narrative in a first-ever case about the trading of digital tokens—even though prosecutors didn’t bring traditional insider-trading charges.
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U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman denied the defense’s request. During a hearing Thursday in Manhattan, the judge said courts strike language from an indictment when it is irrelevant to the alleged crime and prejudicial.
“That standard is not met here,” Judge Furman said. He called the term insider trading “not an inapt discussion of the facts.”
Source: NFT Prosecution Sparks Debate Over Insider-Trading Label for Digital-Token Cases – WSJ
