Court Sentences Founder of Cryptomarket Maker MyTrade

cryptonews.ruPublished on 2026-08-07Last updated on 2026-08-07

Abstract

In October 2024, U.S. prosecutors charged the founder of crypto market maker MyTrade, Zhou, along with 17 others, with conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud. According to authorities, MyTrade provided financial services to crypto projects through its website and MyTrade MM app, conducting wash trades on multiple exchanges to artificially inflate trading volumes and generate interest in specific assets. The company offered a "Volume Support" service allowing clients to specify desired daily trading volumes, which MyTrade then generated using trading bots. An undercover operation by law enforcement, involving a fake company called NexFundAI, revealed Zhou describing how the service used bots for rapid buy/sell trades and could facilitate pump-and-dump schemes. As part of an October 2024 settlement with U.S. authorities, Zhou agreed that MyTrade would permanently deactivate its bots, which had been conducting millions in fake daily trades across 60 cryptocurrencies. The company must also post a website warning that volume inflation through wash trading is illegal in the U.S. This case follows similar U.S. actions against other crypto market makers, such as charging Gotbit founder Alexey Andryunin last year.

In October 2024, US prosecutors charged Zhou and 17 other individuals with conspiracy to manipulate the market and wire fraud. According to law enforcement, the company MyTrade provided financial services to crypto projects via its website and the MyTrade MM application, conducting wash trades with digital assets on several cryptocurrency exchanges. Prosecutors allege MyTrade artificially inflated trading volumes to generate interest in specific assets.

MyTrade MM offered its clients a service called 'Volume Support' through a dedicated control panel on its website. Here, clients could specify the desired daily trading volume, and MyTrade, using trading bots, would generate these transactions on the required cryptocurrency exchanges.

Law enforcement uncovered MyTrade MM's wash trades by conducting a sting operation. They created a shell company called NexFundAI with a website, nexfundai.com, and an Ethereum-based token that appeared on the Uniswap exchange. This token was later blocked by authorities. During negotiations with NexFundAI promoters, Zhou described MyTrade's scheme: the service executes "proprietary trades—buying and selling within the same second," and its volume-managing bot could be used for a pump and dump scheme.

In October 2024, Zhou reached a settlement with US authorities, under which MyTrade was required to permanently deactivate the bots that had been conducting millions of dollars worth of wash trades daily with 60 different cryptocurrencies. MyTrade was also obligated to post a warning on its website stating that volume inflation constitutes wash trading, which is illegal under US law.

Previously, the US Department of Justice charged the founder of market maker Gotbit, Alexey Andryunin, with cryptocurrency fraud and market manipulation. Last year, he was extradited from Portugal to the United States.

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Related Questions

QWhat is MyTrade accused of by U.S. prosecutors?

AU.S. prosecutors accused MyTrade, along with 17 other individuals including its founder Zhou, of conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud. Specifically, they allege the company engaged in spoof trading on multiple crypto exchanges to artificially inflate trading volume and generate interest in specific digital assets.

QHow did MyTrade allegedly execute its 'Volume Support' service?

AMyTrade offered a 'Volume Support' service through a dashboard on its website. Clients could specify a desired daily trading volume, and MyTrade would use trading bots to generate that volume of transactions on designated cryptocurrency exchanges, which prosecutors claim were spoof trades.

QHow did law enforcement gather evidence against MyTrade?

ALaw enforcement conducted a sting operation. They created a fake company called NexFundAI with a website and an Ethereum-based token listed on Uniswap. During negotiations with NexFundAI promoters, MyTrade's founder, Zhou, described how their service worked, including using a bot for pump-and-dump schemes.

QWhat were the terms of the settlement reached by MyTrade's founder in October 2024?

AIn October 2024, Zhou reached a settlement with U.S. authorities. The terms required MyTrade to permanently deactivate the bots conducting millions of dollars in daily spoof trades across 60 different cryptocurrencies. The company also had to post a warning on its website stating that volume inflation constitutes illegal spoof trading under U.S. law.

QWho else has been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice in a similar case involving a crypto market maker?

AThe U.S. Department of Justice has also charged Alexey Andryunin, the founder of market maker Gotbit, with cryptocurrency fraud and market manipulation. He was extradited from Portugal to the U.S. last year.

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