The U.S. Department of Justice has taken one of its strongest actions yet against alleged manipulation in digital asset markets, ordering crypto market-making firm Gotbit Consulting LLC to dissolve and surrender approximately $23 million in seized cryptocurrency. The ruling, announced on June 13, follows a federal court sentencing in Boston tied to what prosecutors described as a long-running scheme to fabricate trading activity and mislead both investors and listing platforms.
According to the DOJ, Gotbit must effectively cease to exist over the next five years as part of its criminal resolution. The case centers on allegations that the company built a business around creating artificial token volume, making projects appear more active and in demand than they really were. In the view of federal prosecutors, the firm’s conduct went far beyond aggressive marketing or liquidity support and crossed into systematic market deception.
A business built around fabricated market activity
The DOJ said Gotbit operated between 2018 and 2024 as a crypto-focused financial firm with ties to Russia and Portugal. During that period, prosecutors alleged, the company offered services designed to inflate token metrics through wash trading—a practice in which the same assets are repeatedly bought and sold through coordinated accounts to create the illusion of real trading demand.
Wash trading has long been a major concern in crypto markets because it can distort price discovery, exaggerate liquidity, and influence how tokens are perceived by retail traders, exchanges, and market data aggregators. In this case, the DOJ argued that Gotbit’s activity was not incidental. Rather, it was central to the firm’s value proposition to clients seeking higher visibility and stronger market optics.
The government said the company manipulated activity metrics in ways intended to make tokens look more legitimate and more actively traded. That appearance could help projects improve their standing on data platforms such as CoinMarketCap and potentially strengthen their chances of landing listings on larger exchanges.
Founder sentenced after guilty plea
The case also resulted in criminal penalties for the firm’s founder and chief executive, Aleksei Andriunin, who is 26 years old. He previously pleaded guilty in March to wire fraud and conspiracy charges. The DOJ said Andriunin had been arrested in Portugal in October 2024 and later extradited to the United States.
The court sentenced him to eight months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release. While the prison term may appear limited compared with the scale of the conduct described in the case, the broader outcome is significant: the company itself is being shut down, its crypto holdings have been forfeited, and the prosecution adds to a growing record of U.S. enforcement actions against firms accused of distorting digital asset markets.
Millions in wash trades, tens of millions in fees
Federal prosecutors portrayed the scope of Gotbit’s conduct as extensive. In the DOJ’s account, the firm executed wash trades worth millions of dollars on behalf of clients and received tens of millions of dollars in payments in return. The agency also said Gotbit used trading patterns specifically designed to avoid detection while still mimicking legitimate market activity.
That detail is notable because it suggests prosecutors were not just focused on the existence of fake volume, but also on the mechanics used to conceal it. In other words, the allegation was not merely that clients wanted to boost numbers, but that Gotbit developed an operational model intended to make manipulated activity look real enough to pass market scrutiny.
The DOJ further pointed to the firm’s work with clients including Robo Inu and Saitama, noting that executives connected to those companies face separate charges. The mention of those names underscores that enforcement pressure is not limited to service providers alone; token issuers and project insiders who benefited from inflated activity may also face legal exposure.
Why the case matters for crypto markets
The Gotbit case is important because it targets a category of participant often seen as operating in the gray zone between liquidity provision and market engineering. In crypto, market makers can play a legitimate role by narrowing spreads and improving tradability. But regulators have increasingly focused on whether some firms use that label to justify tactics that actually manufacture false signals of demand.
When token volume is fabricated, the damage can spread well beyond a single chart. Investors may interpret high turnover as evidence of community interest or institutional participation. Exchanges may treat activity metrics as signs of listing suitability. Aggregators may rank projects more prominently. In that environment, fake volume can become a tool for reputation laundering, allowing weak or little-known tokens to appear established.
By forcing Gotbit to dissolve, the DOJ appears to be sending a message that this type of business model carries serious legal consequences. The forfeiture of about $23 million in crypto also highlights the government’s willingness to pursue financial penalties that go beyond individual prosecutions.
Part of a wider enforcement crackdown
The DOJ said Gotbit is the third digital asset market maker penalized in a broader crackdown, following earlier actions against Mytrade and CLS Global. That pattern suggests the government is not treating this case as an isolated episode, but as part of a wider effort to address manipulation in crypto trading venues and token promotion ecosystems.
In parallel, a related civil case from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission remains ongoing. The overlap between criminal and civil scrutiny is another sign of how seriously U.S. authorities are approaching allegations of fabricated market activity. Even where criminal cases conclude, firms and executives may still face civil claims, compliance restrictions, and reputational fallout.
For the broader industry, the lesson is increasingly clear. Services marketed as volume support, visibility enhancement, or exchange-readiness may attract significant legal attention if they rely on deceptive trading practices. As regulators refine their understanding of crypto market structure, firms that generate synthetic activity rather than genuine liquidity may find it harder to claim ambiguity.
Gotbit’s collapse marks another milestone in that shift. The case combines criminal sentencing, asset forfeiture, executive punishment, and forced dissolution—an unusually sweeping outcome that reflects the seriousness with which U.S. authorities now view wash trading in digital assets. For token issuers, market makers, and platforms alike, the decision is a reminder that inflated metrics are not just a marketing problem; they can become the basis for major enforcement action.