Robinhood Engineers Charged Over Crypto Derivatives Scheme

Two former software engineers at Robinhood Crypto have been charged by federal prosecutors for allegedly exploiting confidential listing information to trade perpetual futures on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid.

Hefu Chai, 36, and Huaisong Xiang, 30, are accused of using their access to nonpublic information about upcoming Robinhood token listings to take leveraged positions in those tokens before any public announcement.

The prosecutors say both men generated more than $50,000 each in profits from the trading activity, which took place between 2025 and 2026.

The charges against Chai and Xiang carry a maximum prison sentence of up to 30 years: 10 years for violating the Commodity Exchange Act and 20 years for wire fraud.