MyTrade founder Liu Zhou was fined $10,000 after pleading guilty in a U.S. crypto market manipulation case. Prosecutors said the firm used bots to create fake trading volume across roughly 60 cryptocurrencies.
MyTrade founder Liu Zhou was fined $10,000 after pleading guilty in a U.S. crypto market manipulation case. Prosecutors said the firm used bots to create fake trading volume across roughly 60 cryptocurrencies.
MyTrade founder Liu Zhou has been fined $10,000 and avoided prison after admitting to a crypto wash trading scheme, according to Decrypt. Zhou, 41, was sentenced in Boston federal court by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud.
MyTrade founder Liu Zhou has been fined $10,000 and avoided prison after admitting to a crypto wash trading scheme, according to Decrypt. Zhou, 41, was sentenced in Boston federal court by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud.
The case matters because wash trading can make crypto markets look more active and liquid than they really are. Prosecutors said MyTrade’s service generated millions of dollars in fake daily volume across roughly 60 cryptocurrencies, giving traders and token communities a distorted picture of market activity.
According to the report, MyTrade offered clients a dashboard where they could request a daily amount of artificial trading volume on named exchanges. The product, called “Volume Support,” used bots to repeatedly buy and sell the same asset, creating the appearance of demand without genuine market interest.
The Justice Department’s case also relied on an undercover operation. Investigators created NexFundAI, a fictitious crypto company with an Ethereum-based token that traded on Uniswap until law enforcement disabled it, then used it to solicit market-making services and document what was offered.
Zhou had been charged in October 2024 alongside 17 other individuals and entities. As part of his plea agreement, MyTrade MM was required to stop selling Volume Support, deactivate the bots behind it, and post a notice on its website stating that the service was wash trading and illegal under U.S. law.
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