1. Home
  2. market manipulation

market manipulation

What is market manipulation in cryptocurrency?

Market manipulation in cryptocurrency involves artificially influencing prices or trading volume to deceive investors.

Market manipulation in the crypto sphere, explained

In the cryptocurrency space, market manipulation refers to the deliberate use of different deceptive strategies to artificially inflate or deflate the price of cryptocurrencies. 

One of the signs of market manipulation includes sudden, unusual price increases or decreases that have nothing to do with important news or trends.

Moreover, persistent anomalies in the market or opaque trading methods may indicate manipulative activity, raising doubts about the market’s integrity among investors and authorities. Also, pump-and-dump schemes are prevalent in the crypto sphere, where a group deliberately inflates the price of a cryptocurrency by disseminating false information to entice buyers, who subsequently sell their holdings at a profit. 

Additionally, whale manipulation is a market manipulation technique used by large holders, or whales, to purposefully buy or sell huge sums of a cryptocurrency to manipulate its price. Moreover, spoofing — the practice of placing huge buy or sell orders and then canceling them before they are executed to simulate a false sense of market demand — aims to manipulate the crypto market. 

Crypto markets are also impacted by insider trading, which is the practice of people making trades based on secret knowledge.

Read more

Hong Kong Bitcoin, Ether ETFs wipe 2 weeks of inflow in a single day

Is Binance’s $4B settlement the green light for spot Bitcoin ETFs?

One crypto executive predicted five months ago that spot Bitcoin ETFs would only be approved after Binance lost ground on its market dominance.

Binance’s $4.3 billion settlement with the United States was the final hurdle before the country’s securities regulator approves spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), many industry watchers claim.

The settlement involved Binance agreeing to Justice Department and Treasury compliance monitors for up to five years, allowing the agencies sweeping powers to keep the exchange in line with Anti-Money Laundering and sanctions rules, among other things.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has cited market manipulation when denying spot Bitcoin ETFs and Binance’s market dominance had to take a hit before BlackRock’s spot BTC ETF application would be approved, according to a June X (Twitter) post by Travis Kling, chief investment officer at Ikigai Asset Management.

“There is no chance, and I mean zero, that this ETF is approved with Binance in its current position of market dominance,” Kling wrote. “If this ETF is approved, Binance is either gone entirely or their role in price discovery is massively diminished.”

Kling’s prediction sparked others to consider how closely BlackRock works with the U.S. government to obtain a favorable position in the spot Bitcoin ETF market. YouTuber “Colin Talks Crypto” said it was suspect that Binance's settlement happened "right before a Bitcoin ETF comes out."

“Is it a way for BlackRock to acquire a massive amounts [sic] of BTC for cheap?” he asked. “Is it a way to remove competition from U.S. markets right before the ETFs go live?”

Others noted that BlackRock and its rival Vanguard together own 11.5% of Binance’s top competitor Coinbase and speculated the action against Binance may have been planned.

BlackRock met with the SEC on Nov. 20 and presented how it could use an in-kind or in-cash redemption model for its spot BTC ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust.

Grayscale also met with the securities regulator on the same day, discussing its bid to list a spot Bitcoin ETF. Fidelity, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie, VanEck and Bitwise also await the SEC’s approval of their spot Bitcoin funds.

Related: Binance CEO CZ’s downfall is ‘the end of an era’ — Charles Hoskinson

Mike Novogratz, CEO of digital asset investment firm Galaxy Digital said the Binance settlement is “super bullish” for the cryptocurrency industry.

Not everyone sees the point in guessing if the Binance news will lead to spot BTC ETF approvals.

In a note to Cointelegraph, Piper Alderman partner Michael Bacina suggested it is best to let the speculation run its course.

Magazine: Deposit risk: What do crypto exchanges really do with your money?

Hong Kong Bitcoin, Ether ETFs wipe 2 weeks of inflow in a single day

XRP spike on hoax filing a ‘bad look’ but won’t sway SEC’s ETF approvals

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas doubts the SEC will deny ETFs after XRP’s price spiked on a faked BlackRock XRP trust filing, but it is a “bad look.”

The Nov. 13 XRP (XRP) price action stemming from a falsified BlackRock XRP trust filing shouldn’t sway the United States securities regulator’s decision to approve or delay spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — but it isn’t a good look, say industry observers.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has previously claimed the Bitcoin market can be manipulated and has knocked back spot Bitcoin ETFs, citing a lack of market manipulation controls.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas told Cointelegraph the fake XRP filing should have little to no impact on the SEC’s final decision.

“We doubt this will impact the situation with spot Bitcoin ETFs,” Balchunas said. However, he added the incident could validate the SEC’s beliefs.

“There’s no doubt it is a bad look that arguably validates the ‘fraud and manipulation’ that the SEC used as grounds for past denial.”

The Nov. 13 filing on the Delaware list of corporations website showed BlackRock creating the “iShares XRP Trust” — a precursor to launching an ETF.

The filing resulted in XRP spiking 12.3% in 30 minutes before it tumbled back down just as quickly once the filing was outed as a hoax by Balchunas and others who received BlackRock’s confirmation that the filing was made by someone posing as its managing director Daniel Schwieger.

Michael Bacina, a partner at the law firm Piper Alderman and chair of the industry group Blockchain Australia, told Cointelegraph he would be “surprised” if the SEC used the incident to postpone ETF applications.

“It’s unlikely an isolated rumor such as this would provide a legal basis for delaying ETF applications already being considered, particularly where they are already subject to deadlines,” he said.

Lucas Kiely, the CEO of wealth management platform Yield App, said the faked XRP filing wouldn’t sway the SEC and stressed the crypto community should “calm down.”

“It is highly unlikely that this incident will play any role in that decision,” Kiely sa.

He iterated that many X (formerly Twitter) pundits have posted fear-mongering headlines to capture audience attention and “spoof the markets.”

“Overall, this is a keep-calm and carry-on moment for the industry and likely a mild amusement for BlackRock.”

XRP filing ‘could easily undermine’ ETF efforts

The SEC has rejected several spot Bitcoin ETFs in the past on claims that investors aren’t protected from “fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices,” argues James Edwards, a crypto analyst at Australian fintech firm Finder.

There’s no reason to suggest it will detract from that view, Edwards claimed.

Related: Bitcoin ETFs to push US slice of crypto ETF trading volume to 99.5% — Analyst

“Unfortunately, events like these could easily undermine efforts to launch a Bitcoin ETF in the U.S.,” Edwards said.

“The onus will be on ETF applicants like BlackRock to demonstrate that they are somehow able to protect clients from market manipulation and fraud, which is difficult given the opaque nature of crypto markets.”

The fake XRP trust filing will be referred to the Delaware Department of Justice for further investigation.

BlackRock filed for a spot Ether ETF on Nov. 9. It is now awaiting regulator approval in addition to its spot Bitcoin ETF filed in June.

Magazine: Asia Express: China’s risky Bitcoin court decision, is Huobi in trouble or not?

Hong Kong Bitcoin, Ether ETFs wipe 2 weeks of inflow in a single day

Decentralized exchanges a magnet for crypto wash traders: Solidus Labs

Token deployers and liquidity providers wash-traded over $2 billion worth of crypto on Ethereum-based DEXs since 2020, a Solidus Labs report claims.

Over 20,000 crypto tokens have been manipulated via decentralized exchange (DEX) wash trading in the last three years, according to market surveillance firm Solidus Labs.

In the second part of its 2023 Crypto Market Manipulation Report released Sept. 12, Solidus said among a sample of 30,000 Ethereum-based DEX liquidity pools, nearly 70% were found to have executed wash trades since September 2020 — making up for around $2 billion worth of crypto.

Wash trading is a form of market manipulation where an entity buys and sells the same asset giving the false impression of market activity.

Wash trades are present in traditional finance, however, Solidus argued market manipulators often have easier means to do so when it comes to crypto.

“In crypto, liquidity is fragmented across a variety of centralized and decentralized exchanges, resulting in smaller markets that are easier to manipulate.”

There’s also an ongoing regulatory question over who is responsible for on-chain wash trading detection and prevention — likely given the borderless nature of decentralized finance.

"Market manipulation remains a significant challenge within the crypto industry, especially in an era of greater regulatory scrutiny and institutional adoption," Solidus founder and CEO Asaf Meir said in a statement.

"The wash trading activity we have unearthed here is a clear sign of market manipulation, and it must be prevented for crypto and DeFi to flourish.”

Solidus explained wash traders come in all shapes and sizes, from token deployers looking for an easy rug pull; to speculators attempting to game an upcoming token airdrop; to exchange and marketplace operators reporting higher trading volumes to attract investors and users.

Related: NFT wash trading increases by 126% in February: Data

In 2022, a National Bureau of Economic Research study suggested more than 70% of unregulated exchange volumes were wash trades.

According to the researchers, there are short-term incentives for wash trading and suggested fake transactions often impact the rankings of the exchanges on data and statistics websites such as CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko.

In addition, fake transactions also affect the crypto prices within the exchanges over the short term.

Hodler’s Digest, Sept. 3-9: Binance’s exec exodus, Nasdaq to trade AI orders and SBF loses bail appeal

Hong Kong Bitcoin, Ether ETFs wipe 2 weeks of inflow in a single day

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao denies rumors of selling Bitcoin to bolster BNB

While several theories emerged, the Binance CEO asserted that no BTC or BNB trading activity is happening behind the scenes.

Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has refuted accusations that Binance has been secretly selling Bitcoin (BTC) to artificially stabilize the price of its native token Binance Coin (BNB).

The rumors have come from several market commentators, including analyst Dylan LeClair and Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten, who have accused Binance of intentionally manipulating the market to artificially inflate the value of BNB.

In a June 13 tweet, CZ said that Binance had not sold any of their BTC or BNB, adding that the crypto exchange still held “a bag” of FTX Token (FTT) — the native token of the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX.

“It is amazing they can know exactly who sold based on just a price chart involving millions of traders. FUD,” he added.

CZ’s post was direct response to a June 14 post from technical analysis platform Skew, which accused Binance of manipulating the market through a series of trades involving BTC, BNB and Tether (USDT):

“Binance is definitely up to something here to prevent BNB from crashing as well as BTC.”

In the same thread, Bitcoin analyst Dylan LeClair claimed that “BNB is clearly a fake market” which is trading with less realized volume than BTC.

In a June 13 tweet, Cory Klippsten, the CEO of Swan Bitcoin also alleged that Binance was engaging in “wash trading,” and claimed that Binance is “trying to pretend” there’s support for BNB:

Wash trading is a market manipulation tactic where a trader sells an asset and then buys it shortly after to inflate its demand or make it look like there's more activity in the marketplace.

Analyst Joe Consorti from The Bitcoin Layer also described BNB’s price action as “unusual” with the “$220 level” being “staunchly defended.” He suggested that it may be a liquidation level for a BNB-collateralized loan.

In response to CZ’s post, Consorti asserted that Binance should publish an audited statement proving that Binance has no BNB-collateralized liabilities in order for the “FUD” to end.

Related: 70% of unregulated exchange transactions are wash trading: NBER study

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance.US on June 5 for allegedly breaking securities laws in addition to engaging in wash trading through its “primary undisclosed ‘market making’ trading firm Sigma Chain,” which is owned by CZ.

CZ and Binance.US have denied any wrongdoing and intend on “vigorously” defending the charges laid against them in the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C.

Magazine: US and China try to crush Binance, SBF’s $40M bribe claim: Asia Express

Hong Kong Bitcoin, Ether ETFs wipe 2 weeks of inflow in a single day

Binance US to Delist Tron and Spell Tokens Amid Heightened Regulatory Pressure

Binance US to Delist Tron and Spell Tokens Amid Heightened Regulatory PressureAccording to a recent announcement from Binance US, the American-based subsidiary of the largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, the exchange plans to delist the cryptocurrency asset tron. The news follows Binance’s being sued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and Tron founder Justin Sun’s being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) […]

Hong Kong Bitcoin, Ether ETFs wipe 2 weeks of inflow in a single day

Jane Street, Tower Research and Radix are Binance’s ‘VIP’ clients in CFTC suit: Report

The firms were cited anonymously in the CFTC’s complaint describing Binance’s alleged facilitation of U.S. clients.

Trading firms Jane Street Group, Tower Research Capital and Radix Trading have been reportedly identified as Binance’s three “VIP” clients that were anonymously cited in the recent lawsuit filed against Binance by the United States commodities regulator.

According to an April 5 Bloomberg report citing “people familiar with the matter,” Radix Trading is “Trading Firm A” as described in the Commodities Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) suit, while Jane Street was “Trading Firm B” and Tower Research was “Trading Firm C.”

The firms on the CFTC’s list were examples of U.S. clients allegedly able to access Binance.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) first reported on March 28 that Radix Trading was “Trading Firm A.”

Radix co-founder Benjamin Blander told the WSJ in a March 30 report that he believed the firm acted legally even when trading with Binance’s offshore entity.

The claimed “VIP” treatment from Binance included lower transaction fees and faster trading services, the CFTC said in the filing. The firms provided Binance with liquidity on the exchange, and Binance gained the corresponding trading fee revenues.

It was part of a strategy that “actively facilitated violations of U.S. law” by helping U.S. trading firms evade Know Your Customer compliance standards, among other things, the CFTC alleged.

Binance allegedly enabled Radix to sidestep compliance controls by providing them information on accessing Binance.com through a virtual private network to obscure its IP address.

Related: Dubai regulator demands Binance provide info on ownership, governance: Report

The CFTC claimed the trading violations to have come about as Binance prioritized “commercial success over compliance with U.S. law.”

However, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao vehemently denied the claims of compliance and market manipulation violations in a follow-up post on March 28.

Magazine: US enforcement agencies are turning up the heat on crypto-related crime

Hong Kong Bitcoin, Ether ETFs wipe 2 weeks of inflow in a single day

Breaking: Binance CEO CZ rejects allegations of market manipulation

The response comes in relation to a series of claims made by the CFTC in its March 27 complaint against Binance.

Binance CEO Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao has rejected allegations from the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission, arguing that the crypto exchange "does not trade for profit or 'manipulate' the market under any circumstances."

In a March 28 blog post, the chief executive responded to the CFTC’s lawsuit accusing Binance and CZ of engaging in improper compliance procedures and trading, calling the allegations "an incomplete recitation of facts."

In its complaint, the CFTC alleged that Binance has traded on its own platform using 300 "house accounts" and did not make the proper disclosures to its customers that it was trading in its own market in its Terms of Use.

The CFTC has also accused Binance of keeping the information a “top secret” and alleged that the exchange refused to respond to commission-issued investigative subpoenas seeking information on its trading activity.

Excerpt from the March 27 CFTC complaint. Source: U.S. District Court

“On information and belief, Binance has not subjected the trading activity of Merit Peak, Sigma Chain, or its approximately 300 house accounts to any anti-fraud or anti-manipulation surveillance or controls," the statement added.

However, CZ argued that while Binance "trades" in a number of situations, this is mainly to convert its crypto revenue to cover expenses in fiat or other cryptocurrencies.

"Personally, I have two accounts at Binance: one for Binance Card, one for my crypto holdings. I eat our own dog food and store my crypto on Binance.com. I also need to convert crypto from time to time to pay for my personal expenses or for the Card,” he added.

CZ also refuted claims that his staff engaged in "insider trading," stating that Binance has a 90-day no-day-trading rule for employees, adding: 

“This is to prevent any employees from actively trading. We also prohibit our employees from trading in Futures.”

He went further to state that employees are restricted from buying or selling coins where they’ve obtained “private information” about them.

"I observe these policies myself strictly. I also never participated in Binance Launchpad, Earn, Margin, or Futures. I know the best use of my time is to build a solid platform that services our users," he added.

Zhao called the recent CFTC filing both "unexpected and disappointing," as it had been working cooperatively with the regulator for over two years.

Regarding compliance allegations, CZ stated Binance.com has developed “best-in-class” technology to ensure compliance and currently has more than 750 people working to ensure their business operates within the bounds of anti-money laundering (AML) and know your client (KYC) laws:

“To date, we have handled 55,000+ LE requests, and assisted US LE freeze/seize more than $125 million in funds in 2022 alone and $160 million in 2023 so far.”

Related: CFTC calls ETH a commodity in Binance suit, highlighting the complexity of classification

CZ also pointed out that Binance.com holds 16 licenses to offer digital asset trading services, the most of any cryptocurrency trading platform.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

Hong Kong Bitcoin, Ether ETFs wipe 2 weeks of inflow in a single day

Former FTX Director of Engineering Under Scrutiny by US Law Enforcement, Alleged Proffer Sessions Held With Prosecutors in New York

Former FTX Director of Engineering Under Scrutiny by US Law Enforcement, Alleged Proffer Sessions Held With Prosecutors in New YorkU.S. law enforcement officials are reportedly scrutinizing Nishad Singh, the former director of engineering at FTX, according to a report citing people familiar with the matter. Another report, published on Jan. 10, 2023, details that Singh met with federal prosecutors at an alleged proffer session held at the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District […]

Hong Kong Bitcoin, Ether ETFs wipe 2 weeks of inflow in a single day

Maybe it WAS illegal: Mango Markets exploiter arrested on fraud charges

The Mango Markets exploiter previously called his attack on the crypto exchange “legal open market actions.”

The crypto trader behind the $110 million exploit of decentralized exchange Mango Markets has been arrested in Puerto Rico — and charged with market manipulation and fraud.

According to a previously sealed complaint filed with the Southern District of New York made public on Dec. 27, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) pinned Avraham Eisenberg with one count of “commodities fraud” and one count of “commodities manipulation” in relation to his exploit of Mango Markets.

Eisenberg’s Oct. 11 exploit of Mango Markets worked by manipulating the value of the platform’s native token MNGO, artificially inflating its price relative to USD Coin (USDC).

Eisenberg and his team then took out “massive loans” against its inflated collateral, which drained Mango’s treasury of around $110 million worth of various cryptocurrencies.

A day later on Oct. 12, Mango entered into negotiations with Eisenberg for the return of the funds.

On Oct. 15, Eisenberg publicly fessed up to exploiting the crypto exchange, stating at the time he was involved in a team that “operated a highly profitable trading strategy” and said that he believed all his actions were “legal open market actions.”

The FBI in its recent complaint stated the actions by Eisenberg constitute both fraud and market manipulation, as he “willfully and knowingly” engaged in a scheme involving the “intentional and artificial manipulation” of the price of perpetual futures on Mango Markets.

This ultimately allowed him to drain $110 million worth of cryptocurrencies — most of which came from the deposits of other Mango Markets investors.

“Due to [Eisenberg’s] withdrawals, other investors with deposits on Mango Markets lost much, or all, of those deposits,” explained FBI special agent Brandon Racz in the Dec. 23 complaint.

Racz said Eisenberg may have known his actions were illegal as well, as the day after the Mango Markets exploit, Eisenberg flew from the United States to Israel.

“Based on the timing of the flight, the travel appears to have been an effort to avoid apprehension by law enforcement in the immediate aftermath of the Market Manipulation Scheme,” he said.

Eisenberg was arrested on Dec. 26 in Puerto Rico, according to a filing from the United States Attorney Southern District of New York.

Related: How low liquidity led to Mango Markets losing over $116 million

In November, Eisenberg tried his luck again, this time on Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocol Aave, taking out a loan of 40 million CRV tokens from Aave and betting on a drop in price through a series of sophisticated short sales.

However, the plan ultimately didn’t succeed as the price actually rose during the attack, resulting in losses due to the significant short position.

Hong Kong Bitcoin, Ether ETFs wipe 2 weeks of inflow in a single day