Companies that buy crypto are seeing big stock moves — and some of those moves happened before the news.
A report by Fortune has disclosed that several firms which announced large purchases of cryptocurrency also saw sharp stock gains in the days just before their public announcements.
That timing has raised red flags for traders, regulators and investors who say those price jumps look like classic front-running — trading on material non-public information.
Suspicious Preannouncement Jumps
According to the report, MEI Pharma’s stock nearly doubled just before it revealed a $100 million purchase of Litecoin.
SharpLink’s shares rose from $3 to $6 in the three trading days before announcing it would add $425 million in Ethereum to its balance sheet.
Mill City Ventures’ stock more than tripled in the two days before it announced a crypto-related fundraise. No new SEC filings, press releases or social chatter were linked to those moves. So the pattern is hard to ignore.
Experts say a big number of insider trading cases take place ahead of merger and acquisition deals. Image: Getty Images
On Crypto, Roadshows & Information Leakage
Based on the report, a common thread appears to be the roadshow — the private meetings where companies pitch deals to selected investors before an announcement.
Roadshows can put many people in a position to hear sensitive plans. When those meetings line up with suspicious stock pops, researchers and executives say information leakage is the likely cause.
Some analysts have likened the behavior to the same sort of insider trading that often shows up around takeover attempts. One academic study even found that many illegal insider trading cases are tied to takeover news that leaks before it is made public.
What The Law Says
US law bans trading on material non-public information. That ban covers company insiders and anyone else who was “wall-crossed” — that is, given confidential details under the condition they keep it private.
Proving who traded on the tip is not always easy, and identifying the specific source of a leak can be complex. But sharp, unexplained price moves right before an announcement often line up with behavior regulators investigate.
Companies Try New Steps
Some firms are taking steps to tighten the window when information might leak. CEA Industries and Verb Technology have changed roadshow tactics.
Instead of giving out a ticker right away, they wait until after market close on a Friday and then make the public announcement on Monday.
That shortens the time anyone has to trade on inside information. It is a practical fix, even if it cannot stop all leaks.
What Investors Should Watch
Short-term spikes without public news deserve caution. Sudden moves that line up with later big corporate actions can mean insiders had a heads-up.
Retail traders who jump into these stocks risk being burned if the market corrects after the announcement or if regulators later intervene.
Transparency and clearer controls on preannouncement briefings are being called for by market watchers who want a fairer playing field.
Featured image from Getty Images, chart from TradingView
