Former Coinbase product manager, Ishan Wahi, and his brother Nikhil Wahi are challenging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a motion to dismiss insider trading charges.
The SEC accused the brothers, along with associate Sameer Ramani, of making $1.1 million by using Ishan’s information on the timing and names of tokens in upcoming Coinbase listings.
The Wahi brothers’ lawyers filed a motion on February 6 arguing that the cryptocurrencies traded by the Wahi’s were not securities and were instead comparable to baseball trading cards or beanie babies.
The lawyers also stated that the SEC does not have clear congressional authorization to deem the tokens as securities and should instead engage in a public proceeding to explain their view and provide guidance to regulated parties. The Wahi brothers and Ramani also face charges from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy.