Founder of cryptocurrency firm Gotbit extradited to US for market manipulation

Home
»
Stories
»
2025
»
February

CRYPTO NEWS AROUND THE GLOBE

SEC's Absence at Binance Settlement Announcement Raises Questions

Binance Tops PYMNTS' Provider Ranking of Crypto Wallets

Are Binance and France the newest couple in Crypto Town?

L’ETF BTC de BlackRock engrange 100 000 dollars, sans être approuvé - Coins.fr

Riot passe la plus grosse commande de mineurs BTC de son histoire - Coins.fr

Les hackers français du protocole DeFi Platypus relaxés - Coins.fr

Binance’s Top Executive Team to ‘Remain Intact,’ New CEO Says

Le FSB souhaite s'assurer que les règles pour les bourses crypto sont suffisantes - Coins.fr

Selon le célèbre Arthur Hayes, le traitement réservé à CZ et Binance par les USA est absurde

Les plans du nouveau PDG de Binance après le départ de CZ

Guerre anti-crypto : Binance.US traqué par la SEC

Binance menacée de fermer ? Ce nouvel élément déterminera tout

Columbia Business School Professor on Binance settlement: Major financial firms have been caught doing worse 'yet suffered much milder consequences’

Binance investit dans Open Campus, un protocole éducatif web3 - Coins.fr

“Il m’a royalement ignorée” : Christine Lagarde raconte la mésaventure crypto de son fils

Waltio lève 1,8 million d'euros, notamment auprès du Crédit Agricole

Bitcoin ETF Optimism Spurs Largest Asset Inflows Since Late 2021

New Binance CEO shares vision for crypto’s future

Fraudes aux crypto-actifs : KPMG et Chainalysis s’allient - Coins.fr

Agrément PSAN : le scepticisme des acteurs traditionnels

Binance settles with US regulators, CEO steps down as part of deal

Après la condamnation de Binance, les filiales sous pression

Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao Agrees to Step Down, Plead Guilty

Mastercard is making efforts to better detect crypto fraud with AI tie-up

US Seeks More than $4 Billion From Binance to End Criminal Case

UK retail sales fall to two-year low as inflation-hit consumers cut spending

Europe needs its own SEC, says Christine Lagarde

Singapore opens the door to a shrinking market

Macron argues against 'punitive' AI regulation

A Chypre, un conglomérat de cybersurveillance entre opacité juridique et optimisation fiscale

All Crypto News Around The Globe

Founder of cryptocurrency firm Gotbit extradited to US for market manipulation

Web3/Crypto

Alexey Andryunin, Founder of Gotbit | LinkedIn

By Crypto Republique

Feb 27, 2025

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts has announced the extradition of Aleksei Andriunin, founder of Gotbit, to face charges of market manipulation and wire fraud. The announcement was made in a press release on February 26.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Andriunin, a 26-year-old Russian national residing in Portugal, was arrested on October 8, 2024, and extradited to the United States on February 25, 2025. He appeared in federal court in Boston and was ordered detained pending a future hearing. The indictment also charges Gotbit and two of its directors, Fedor Kedrov and Qawi Jalili, with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation.

Between 2018 and 2024, Gotbit allegedly engaged in "wash trading," a form of sham trading used to artificially inflate the trading volumes of various cryptocurrency tokens. This manipulation aimed to deceive investors and secure listings on larger cryptocurrency exchanges. Prosecutors allege that Gotbit's fraudulent trades amounted to millions of dollars, generating tens of millions in illicit proceeds.

Get the Newsletter

Sign-up to receive weekly round up of news from Crypto Republique

According to a survey conducted by AMBCrypto in August 2024, 78% of cryptocurrency investors consider Binance and Coinbase as the safest crypto exchanges. This endorsement underscores the significant trust these platforms have garnered within the crypto trading community.

Andriunin is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gotbit, known for its market-making activities. Under his leadership from 2018 to 2024, Gotbit allegedly provided market manipulation services including wash trading to artificially inflate trading volumes for various cryptocurrency companies. In a 2019 interview, he described developing a code to execute these wash trades aiming to get cryptocurrencies listed on platforms like CoinMarketCap and larger exchanges.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts is responsible for prosecuting federal crimes in the state including cybercrime, financial fraud, and securities violations. The office has been actively involved in addressing cryptocurrency-related fraud as demonstrated by recent cases targeting market manipulation and investment scams within the digital asset sector.