Aleksei Andriunin, the founder of Gotbit Consulting LLC, was sentenced to prison for engaging in wash trading to inflate cryptocurrency trading volumes. The Massachusetts U.S. District Court ordered Gotbit to forfeit $23 million in seized cryptocurrency as part of a guilty plea agreement. This sentencing comes after Andriunin pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation. Between 2018 and 2024, Gotbit provided services that created artificial trading volumes for various cryptocurrency firms, misleading investors and generating significant profits in the process. The Department of Justice noted that Andriunin developed software for executing trades between multiple accounts to simulate legitimate trading activity. Gotbit's actions were part of a broader federal crackdown on digital asset fraud involving multiple companies. This case marks the third conviction of a crypto market maker linked to illegal wash trading. The operation specifically aimed to boost the market visibility of various tokens, causing financial harm to investors who purchased inflated cryptocurrencies.

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