MyTrade Founder Sentenced: $10,000 Fine for Faking Crypto Volume
Liu Zhou, 41, founder of crypto market maker MyTrade, was sentenced Thursday in Boston federal court by Judge Angel Kelley. Fine: $10,000. Prison: none.
His business? A dashboard called "Volume Support" where projects bought fake volume. Bots bought and sold the same token in the same second, across ~60 cryptocurrencies, millions of dollars daily.
Caught by an FBI sting using a fake token, NexFundAI. He was charged in October 2024 along with 17 co-conspirators.
Lesson for traders:
Volume can be purchased. Always check it against liquidity depth and holder count. Big volume + thin order book = manufactured demand, not real buyers.
First sentencing from Operation Token Mirrors. Gotbit, ZM Quant and CLS Global still pending.
Liu Zhou, 41, founder of crypto market maker MyTrade, was sentenced Thursday in Boston federal court by Judge Angel Kelley. Fine: $10,000. Prison: none.
His business? A dashboard called "Volume Support" where projects bought fake volume. Bots bought and sold the same token in the same second, across ~60 cryptocurrencies, millions of dollars daily.
Caught by an FBI sting using a fake token, NexFundAI. He was charged in October 2024 along with 17 co-conspirators.
Lesson for traders:
Volume can be purchased. Always check it against liquidity depth and holder count. Big volume + thin order book = manufactured demand, not real buyers.
First sentencing from Operation Token Mirrors. Gotbit, ZM Quant and CLS Global still pending.