Robinhood Engineers Charged with Using Confidential Info for Crypto Trading
Two former Robinhood engineers have been charged with commodities fraud and wire fraud by the US Department of Justice.
Hefu Chai and Huaisong Xiang, also known as 'Jerry Xiang,' allegedly used confidential information about upcoming cryptocurrency listings on Robinhood Crypto to trade perpetual futures on Hyperliquid between 2025 and 2026.
The engineers had access to this information due to their roles at Robinhood Markets. They reportedly opened positions linked to cryptocurrencies before they were publicly announced by Robinhood, allowing them to profit from the price movements that followed.
Prosecutors claim Chai and Xiang made over $50,000 in trades related to Robinhood's private listing efforts. The US Attorney said, 'Misappropriating confidential information to trade in the derivatives markets for personal benefit is illegal.'