TechFlow reported on March 20, according to Decrypt, that Aleksei Andriunin, founder of cryptocurrency market maker Gotbit, has reached a guilty plea agreement with U.S. authorities, resulting in the forfeiture of $23 million worth of crypto assets.
Court documents show that Gotbit operated from 2018 to 2024, providing token price inflation services for multiple crypto projects, primarily creating artificial trading volume through "wash trading." In a separate lawsuit, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stated the company meticulously recorded data comparing artificially "generated volume" with natural "market volume."
According to court filings, Andriunin will be subject to three years of supervised release, during which he is prohibited from participating in any cryptocurrency-related activities.
Previous report: In November last year, the founder of crypto market maker Gotbit was charged with market manipulation.
