Aleksei Andriunin, the founder of crypto market maker Gotbit, was sentenced by a federal court in Boston yesterday on charges of market manipulation and fraud. He will serve eight months in prison and five years of probation.
Additionally, he forfeited $24 million in various cryptoassets as part of a plea deal. Although two indicted executives are apparently still at large, Gotbit’s operations are to shut down entirely.
Gotbit Founder Sentenced to Prison
Gotbit, an influential market maker, established its reputation with meme coins like Saitama and Robo Inu. The platform used wash trading to artificially boost the token’s liquidity.
However, the FBI employed fake tokens to catch the firm in the act last October, leading to a major sting operation. Today, Gotbit founder Aleksei Andriunin was sentenced to prison, ending a chapter in the saga.
After the Gotbit founder was extradited to the US in February, he entered a plea deal that significantly impacted his sentence. Andriunin detailed his company’s wash trading operations to federal prosecutors and may have cooperated in other ways.
As a result, his punishment is only eight months in prison plus five years of probation and substantial asset forfeiture.
The FBI also indicted Fedor Kedrov and Qawi Jalili, two other executives, but they still remain at large. Regardless, the FBI has its eye on the platform and intends to ensure Gotbit “ceases to exist or operate” altogether.
Generally, the community responded positively to the sentencing, as the firm’s actions could compromise market confidence. Neiro, a popular meme coin, had some early ties with the market maker but cut the firm off completely shortly after.
All that is to say, market fraudsters can damage legitimate projects’ reputations, creating scandals that weigh down their potential success. Now that Gotbit’s founder has been sentenced, the community can rest a little easier.
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