Robinhood Staffers Charged With Crypto-Related Trading Fraud

(Bloomberg) -- Two Robinhood Markets Inc. employees were charged by US prosecutors with fraud for allegedly using nonpublic information to trade crypto-linked perpetual futures on a decentralized derivatives exchange.

The two Robinhood engineers, identified as Hefu Chai, 36, and Huaisong Xiang, 30, allegedly used confidential information related to whether and when additional cryptocurrencies would be supported by Robinhood to buy crypto-linked perpetual futures on the exchange Hyperliquid, according to a statement Tuesday from Manhattan US Attorney Jamie McDonald. The two staffers allegedly made more than $50,000 each from their trades.

"Robinhood takes market integrity seriously and has zero tolerance for insider trading," a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "We have robust insider-trading policies and procedures in place, including for new crypto listings. We immediately investigated and reported this matter to law enforcement and regulators, and will continue to cooperate with their investigations."

Chai, of Menlo Park, California, and Xiang, of Jersey City, New Jersey, allegedly made the trades between 2025 and 2026, according to the statement. They are scheduled to appear in court in California and New York on Tuesday.

Chai didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the charges on LinkedIn. Robert Stahl, a lawyer representing Xiang, said his client denies the charges and will vigorously defend himself in court.