Moonbirds NFT price surge amid insider trading allegations

2024-02-18

News Moonbirds NFT price surge amid insider trading allegationsThe Ethereum-based NFT collection Moonbirds experienced a surge in price and trading volume amid allegations of insider trading. The surge occurred before the public announcement of Yuga Labs' acquisition of Moonbirds' intellectual property rights from the original creator, Proof. Data from blockchain analytics platform CryptoSlam revealed that daily sales volume for Moonbirds NFTs increased significantly in the days leading up to the announcement, with spikes in sales activity and price that raised suspicions of insider trading.

Pseudonymous blockchain developer cygaar and crypto trader and influencer CirrusNFT both commented on the spikes preceding the announcement, implying that insider trading had likely taken place. The possibility of insider trading in the NFT market is not unprecedented, as former OpenSea executive Nathaniel Chastain was charged and sentenced for similar conduct last year.

Regulators may yet choose to investigate whether any similar unlawful activity influenced the weeks of trading before Yuga Labs went public with their Moonbirds acquisition. For now, the allegations remain unproven, but the circumstantial evidence has drawn the scrutiny and speculation of the crypto community.