Jul 18, 2024 12:00

Worldcoin faces scam allegations after extending token lockup by 2 years

Worldcoin faces allegations of price manipulation after delaying unlocking 80% of its native tokens.

May 01, 2025 12:05

XRP Price Suppressed By Dark Pools, Crypto Pundit Claims

The recent stagnation in XRPs spot price may owe less to waning market interest than to a surge in off-exchange trading, according to crypto pundit and Digital Ascension Group managing director Jake Claver. In a 23-post thread published on X, the commentator argued that dark pools are an invisible force holding prices stable, even as institutional demand accelerates. Clavers threadviewed more than 250,000 times within 48 hoursposits that private liquidity venues are absorbing large buy orders that would otherwise inflate the public order book. So whats a dark pool, exactly? Picture trying to buy $500 million worth of XRP without tipping off the market, he wrote. Dark pools are private spots where huge orders get filled off the main exchanges. XRP Price Rigged? The pundit described the mechanism as a double-edged sword. In the near term, he contends, clandestine accumulation hides bullish momentum and drags prices down, leaving retail traders to conclude that the asset has lost steam. Over a longer horizon, however, the same process allegedly tightens circulating supply until, he warned, the dam bursts. Related Reading: XRP Price Takes a Breather Can Bulls Bounce Back from Here? Institutions are quietly draining liquidity from public exchanges, Claver asserted, adding that hedge funds, family offices and even sovereign entities have begun using dark-pool facilities now offered by major exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken, as well as emerging decentralized alternatives. Because transactions are reported only after execution, he argued, smart money doesnt leave a trail. Claver suggested that XRP is a prime beneficiary of this covert activity. In his view, pending regulatory clarity and enterprise-level adoption could coincide with dwindling float, leading to an abrupt repricing. At a certain point, demand on public exchanges will explode past supply and thats when the market will panic to reprice itself. Get ready for a potential 2×, 3×, even 5× sprint, he wrote. Should the hidden bid exhaust available inventory, the price gaps straight up charts will look like someone flipped a switch. Related Reading: XRP To Hit $8, No Double Digits This Cycle Warns Crypto Analyst He underscored the psychological dimension of a prolonged flat tape: These are the stretches where even the die-hard believers start doubting and walk away. But if you hang tight, you might just catch what comes next. Comparing dark-pool activity to a pressure cooker, Claver added, They bottle up all that buying pressure now, but eventually, the lid blows off. Concluding his thread, he urged patience: Stay locked in. When the dam breaks, youll be grateful you bought at 50 cents instead of scrambling to buy at $10. Is There Proof? Market data do indicate muted volatility in XRP, which has traded in a narrow corridor around $2.00 for much of April despite a succession of positive fundamentals and news from Ripple. Whether dark-pool activity is the decisive variable, however, remains unverified; most over-the-counter (OTC) trading is reported only in aggregated form, and no public ledger tracks the size of institutional flows Claver describes. Claver offered no documentary evidence for the alleged scale of purchasing, and his analysis stops short of quantifying volumes. Nevertheless, his thread reinforces a familiar narrative in crypto markets: that price calm on the surface may belie deep currents of accumulation below. For retail spectators, the question is whether those unseen currents will indeed surface as the vertical move Claver envisionsor remain, like most dark-pool orders, permanently out of sight. At press time, XRP traded at $2.21. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

Apr 28, 2025 12:05

Crypto price manipulation explained: How cybercriminals influence the market

What is crypto price manipulation?

When a coin moons out of nowhere and then crashes just as fast — it is rarely pure market magic.

Cryptocurrency price manipulation is the dark art of bending the market to your will. It is when insiders or coordinated groups inflate or crash a coin’s price, not through real demand, but through smoke and mirrors. They might fake volume, spread hype, trigger fear, or pull sudden sell-offs — all to trap unsuspecting traders and walk away with the profits.

In traditional finance, this kind of behavior gets you fined or jailed. But what about in the world of crypto? It often flies under the radar. With light regulations and heavy emotions in play, the digital asset market has become a playground for manipulators, especially where liquidity is low and oversight is weaker.

Here’s the classic playbook:

• Manipulators create fake demand or fear
• The price spikes or crashes based on emotional reactions from other traders
• The manipulators sell or buy at the right moment
• The rest of the market suffers the consequences.

The most common crypto market manipulation tactics

Scammers don’t need magic — they just need market psychology and a few tricks.

As the digital asset landscape expands, criminals have honed various crypto price manipulation tactics. Each tactic capitalizes on the market’s volatility and traders’ fear of missing out (FOMO). Let’s break down the most used:

• Pump-and-dump: This scheme starts with a coordinated group quietly buying a low-cap token. They then ignite hype through influencers, fake news or viral posts to drive the price up rapidly. As retail investors rush in, the group sells at the top — causing the price to crash. Latecomers are left holding devalued tokens, having bought into the illusion of explosive growth.

• Whale moves: Whales — wallets holding large amounts of crypto – can shift market trends with a single trade. Their massive buy or sell orders influence price direction and trigger emotional responses from smaller traders. Many follow the whale’s lead, thinking they know something others don’t, which compounds the volatility. Some whales use this effect strategically to buy low and sell high.
• Wash trading: This usually involves a single user who buys and sells the same token to themselves to artificially inflate trading volume. This creates a false sense of activity and demand, misleading investors into thinking the project is more legitimate or liquid than it really is. It’s especially common on unregulated exchanges and can help tokens climb rankings on tracking platforms.
• Spoofing and layering: In spoofing, manipulators place large fake orders to buy or sell without intending to execute them. This gives the illusion of strong market interest and influences price action. Layering uses multiple fake orders at different price levels to amplify the effect. Once real traders react, the fake orders are removed and the manipulator takes profit, leaving others chasing phantom momentum.

Did you know? According to a 2022 study, 70% of transactions on unregulated crypto exchanges are wash trades — with some platforms seeing volumes as high as 80%. Behind the scenes: Advanced crypto price manipulation tactics

Not all crypto price manipulation is obvious. Some of it is deeply technical — or done in silence.

Beyond basic scams, cybercriminals use more complex tactics to manipulate and sway the market.

• Bots manipulating crypto prices: High-frequency trading bots can front-run trades, spoof orders, or simulate volume — all faster than any human.
• Insider trading in crypto: When someone trades on non-public info (like a token listing or partnership), it gives them an unfair edge. And yes — it happens.
• Oracle manipulation: Hackers sometimes exploit oracles — the tools that feed price data into decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. Faking a price feed can drain liquidity pools or trick smart contracts.

Did you know? In 2020, a hacker used a flash loan to manipulate an oracle on bZx, stealing millions in seconds. It was one of the first examples of oracle-based fraud. Why manipulation works: Psychology over logic

In crypto, emotion moves faster than reason — and scammers know it.

Even experienced traders fall for manipulation because it plays on powerful instincts. Because the market moves fast, decisions are often made in the heat of the moment — on gut feeling, not deep analysis. And manipulators are experts at pressing the right emotional buttons.

Greed is the oldest trick in the book. Everyone wants to catch the next 100x gem, and scammers know how to dress up trash as treasure. A few flashy tweets, a celebrity shoutout and, suddenly, a random coin looks like the ticket to financial freedom.

Fear is just as powerful. One big red candle can trigger a chain reaction of panic selling. Manipulators use this to buy back cheap, while everyone else scrambles to exit.

FOMO is the final piece. When traders see others making big gains, logic goes out the window. Instead of researching, they ape in, hoping not to be left behind.

These emotions are hardwired. They’re faster than logic, and in crypto, speed is everything. Manipulators don’t need to hack wallets or break code — they just hack human behavior. Stir up just the right storm of excitement or dread, and the market plays right into their hands.

Did you know? The infamous Squid Game Token soared tens of thousands of percent before crashing to zero. It was a textbook rug pull — but the hype was too loud for many to resist.

What crypto price manipulation does to the market

One scam doesn’t just hurt victims — it damages the entire ecosystem.

Crypto price manipulation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Every fake pump, every engineered crash, every orchestrated scam chips away at the foundation of the entire crypto ecosystem: trust.

When retail traders — especially newcomers — get caught in a pump-and-dump or a whale-induced panic, the damage runs deeper than a single bad trade. Many walk away for good, disillusioned and angry, taking their money and optimism with them. The promise of open, decentralized finance starts to look like just another casino — rigged and unforgiving.

And it doesn’t stop there. High-profile cryptocurrency frauds and price manipulation scandals light up the radar of regulators worldwide. Each incident becomes a case study in why crypto “needs to be tamed.” That means stricter rules, more compliance hoops and an overall slowdown in innovation. The free-spirited, experimental energy that drives crypto forward starts to feel boxed in.

Meanwhile, legit projects — those building real utility, transparency and long-term value — struggle to rise above the noise. Scam tokens dominate the charts. Shady influencers flood timelines. The signal gets buried under waves of hype and deception.

In the end, crypto price manipulation doesn’t just hurt individual investors. It poisons the well for everyone — developers, communities and the future of the space itself.

Did you know? The memecoin craze has pulled in not just investors — but celebrities, too. From hyped tokens to sudden rug pulls, in 2024, several celeb-backed crypto projects have gone off the rails, blurring the line between fame and fraud.

How to protect yourself from crypto manipulation

You can’t control the market — but you can avoid its traps.

Here are practical steps to avoid falling for crypto scams and manipulation:

• DYOR (Do Your Own Research): Don’t rely on TikTok tips or Telegram groups. Look into the token’s team, roadmap, use case and trading history.
• Watch trading volume: Sudden spikes or weirdly low volume can signal wash trading or a setup for manipulation.
• Monitor whale activity: Use tools like Whale Alert or blockchain explorers to spot big wallet movements.
• Use trusted platforms: Stick to exchanges that actively monitor for illegal crypto trading tactics like spoofing and wash trading.
• Keep learning: Stay up to date on the latest tactics and red flags. Knowledge is your best defense.

The push for safer crypto markets

The good news? The crypto world is fighting back.

The crypto universe might still feel like the digital frontier, but it is no longer a lawless land. Across the ecosystem, the good guys — builders, platforms and policymakers — are stepping in to make the space more transparent, resilient and secure for users.

Crypto exchanges are starting to unleash AI-powered surveillance tools designed to spot shady behavior in real time. Wash trading? Spoofing? Pump-and-dump groups? These algorithms are already trained to catch the tricks before they catch you.

On the DeFi side, protocols are stepping up with on-chain governance and transparency upgrades. Communities can now vote on key actions, track wallet movements, and call out suspicious patterns — all out in the open.

And regulators? They are finally moving from the sidelines to the rulebook. New legislation is targeting insider trading, fake promotions and market abuse, bringing long-overdue accountability to crypto’s fast lanes.

Is the system foolproof yet? Far from it. But every smart contract, policy update and AI model pushing back against manipulation is a win for the space.

So, if crypto scams thrive in the dark, knowledge is your flashlight. If a token’s mooning with no clear reason, pause. If something does not feel right, it probably is not. Trust your gut, not the hype. Because in the end, staying informed is your best defense — and your smartest investment.

Feb 25, 2025 12:05

Is The Bitcoin Price Manipulated? Expert Exposes The Truth

In a new research report shared on X, Joe Consorti, Head of Growth at Theya, has dispelled ongoing rumors alleging that the Bitcoin price is being artificially held down. Consorti lays out a comprehensive examination of on-chain data, pointing to the normal cyclical behavior of long-term holders (LTHs) and their profit-taking patterns as key drivers of bitcoins current trading dynamic. Is The Bitcoin Price Currently Manipulated? One of the core arguments Consorti addresses is the suspicion that the boring period of consolidation might be engineered through hidden market forces. In his words: Claims of artificial price suppression is a gold-era argument that doesnt work in bitcoin, whose ledger is auditable in real time, meaning we can see exactly who is buying and selling through their own node on the network. Consorti underscores that any concerted effort to artificially cap Bitcoin would be visible to on-chain observers. Instead, the data points to a well-trodden pattern: after accumulating BTC in the lower price rangesbetween $15,000 to $25,000LTHs sell portions of their holdings into higher prices, redistributing coins to new market participants who continue bidding bitcoin upward. This is normal. Those who held for years start offloading as price moves higher, transferring coins to new buyers stepping in to bid the price to even higher highs. Related Reading: Bitcoin Faces Serious Price Compression What Happened Last Time According to Consorti, Bitcoin has now entered its 100+ day consolidation range around $95,000a stretch he compares to previous multi-month consolidation phases that eventually resolved in major price expansions. The research provides a retrospective look at how LTHs behaved in previous price climbs: LTHs accumulated BTC from $15k to $25k, before selling to new market entrants (short-term holders) who bid the price up to the next step. They did the same from $25k to $40k, from $40k to $65k, and from $65k to the ~$95,000 range we find ourselves in now. Consorti notes that LTHs have lately turned back into net accumulators. Although the shift is slight, he contends this behavior usually marks the tail end of consolidation before another breakout. The researcher also points to a recent $1.4 billion Ethereum hack on Bybitallegedly the largest in cryptos historyas a factor momentarily knocking bitcoin off an attempt to break out of its falling wedge pattern. Despite the market disruption, bitcoin only slipped 1.75% on the day, which Consorti says is a testament to the leading BTCs outright strength and diminishing correlation to broader crypto assets. Overall, Consorti expects the falling wedge to resolve itself by the first week of March, barring additional black swan events. He also observes that Bitcoins current consolidation zone may stretch beyond 101 days, cautioning that maximum pain in the market could see it extend to 236 days, mirroring last summers protracted consolidation period. Consorti also references the possible impact of President Trumps working group on Bitcoin, which is set to decide on the viability of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve by the end of June. Should a final decision come sooner, he suggests it may provide a major spark for the marketeither bullish or bearish, depending on the outcome. Spot ETF inflows, once seen as a main propeller of Bitcoins price, have diminished since early January. Although they still show 78 figure daily inflows, these are down significantly from the 910 figure levels that occurred throughout last spring and fall, hinting that other market forces, such as institutional and on-chain dynamics, might be more influential in this cycles price movement. Another topic is Bitcoins dislocation from global M2 money supply, which had tracked the price with uncanny accuracy for nearly 18 months. That correlation broke when global M2 suggested a deeper downturn for bitcoin, yet BTC continued to hover around $95,000. Now that M2 is edging upward again on a weaker US dollar, the research suggests the possibility of Bitcoin aligning for its next leg higher. Comparing Bitcoin to gold with a 50-day lead likewise implies that golds recent trajectory may point to an upside resolution, albeit less precisely than M2 correlations. If this holds, a push towards $120,000 appears plausible. Related Reading: Bitfinex Whale Activity Increases As Bitcoin Approaches $100kFurther Surge Ahead? Consorti concludes by shifting attention to the evolving landscape of US Treasury (UST) demand. Major foreign holders such as China and Japan have progressively reduced or flatlined their positionsChinas holdings have reached a 2009 low of $759 billion, while Russia has fully exited, and Japan remains at $1.06 trillion for 13 years. Its not just China. Russia has fully exited USTs. Japan, the largest foreign holder, has been sitting flat at $1.06 trillion for 13 years. Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserves share of outstanding marketable USTs has surged from 22% in 2008 to 47.3% in 2025, stepping in as foreign demand wanes. But a new player is joining the market in the form of stablecoins, which collectively hold about $200 billion in Treasuries to back their dollar-pegged tokens. According to Consorti, this stablecoin demand: Could lower long-term interest rates. The proliferation of stablecoins and their use of Treasuries as a reserve asset means theyre functioning like an entirely new foreign central bank. He argues that stablecoins effectively ensure fresh demand for Treasuries, helping the US government offset declining foreign involvement and sustain its borrowing needs. White House AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks has publicly echoed this perspective, saying stablecoins help maintain liquidity for US debt. At press time, BTC traded $95,645. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com