Gotbit Consulting LLC, a well-known cryptocurrency market maker, has recently been sentenced in federal court for engaging in criminal activities related to manipulating digital asset trading volumes. The firm’s founder and CEO, 26-year-old Aleksei Andriunin, has been given an eight-month prison sentence and one year of supervised release for his involvement in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and market manipulation.
Andriunin, a Russian-Portuguese national, was extradited from Portugal to the U.S. earlier this year following his arrest in October 2024. Prosecutors have revealed that Gotbit orchestrated a complex scheme between 2018 and 2024, involving “wash trading” tactics to artificially inflate trading volumes on behalf of various token issuers, including Robo Inu and Saitama.
As part of a plea agreement, Gotbit has been sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to forfeit approximately $23 million in seized cryptocurrency. The firm, which operated outside the United States but collaborated with several U.S.-accessible crypto platforms, has been mandated to cease all its operations.
Gotbit’s services included creating fake trading volume to assist client tokens in gaining visibility on platforms like CoinMarketCap and securing listings on top-tier exchanges. In a 2019 interview, Andriunin openly admitted to developing software for wash trading to facilitate such activities while evading detection on the blockchain.
This case marks the third instance of a market-making firm being prosecuted for wash trading since 2024. Previous cases involved MyTrade and CLS Global, both caught in an undercover federal operation targeting market abuse in the digital asset industry. Gotbit’s directors, Fedor Kedrov and Qawi Jalili, are currently facing indictment, with criminal proceedings ongoing. Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated a parallel civil enforcement action accusing Gotbit of violating securities laws.
The criminal case against Gotbit was spearheaded by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Markham and David M. Holcomb, with asset forfeiture managed by AUSA Carol Head of the Asset Recovery Unit. The FBI’s Boston Division led the investigation into the matter.
As the authorities crack down on market abuse within the cryptocurrency sector, cases like Gotbit serve as a reminder of the importance of maintaining integrity and transparency in digital asset trading. The repercussions for engaging in fraudulent activities can be severe, highlighting the need for vigilance and accountability in the evolving landscape of crypto markets.