US charges former Robinhood engineers over alleged crypto listing trades
Robinhood crypto listing fraud charges hit ex-engineers accused of insider trading See how prosecutors say they profited from secret token plans and market moves
US prosecutors have charged two former Robinhood engineers with commodities fraud and wire fraud over allegations that they used confidential information about upcoming crypto listings to trade perpetual futures for profit.
According to the Justice Department, Hefu Chai and Huaisong “Jerry” Xiang allegedly traded contracts tied to tokens before Robinhood Crypto announced listings. Prosecutors say each made more than $50,000 from the trades between 2025 and 2026.
The complaint says both men had access to private internal information about planned listings and used it to open long positions on Hyperliquid before token prices moved after Robinhood’s announcements. Robinhood had rules barring such trading around listing events. The defendants have not been convicted and are presumed innocent.