Overview

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has initiated legal proceedings against eight traders allegedly involved in manipulating the price of VOXEL perpetual futures. The exchange claims these individuals gained over $20 million through illicit activities during an incident on April 20, 2025.

Legal Actions

Xie Jiayin, Bitget’s Head of Chinese Operations, announced via a post on social media on April 27, 2025 that the legal team will promptly send notices to the implicated accounts. Jiayin labeled these traders as the “main instigators” of the manipulation but assured unaffected VOXEL traders that no actions would be taken against those who traded legitimately on that date.

The irregular trading activity on Bitget’s VOXEL/USDT perpetual futures saw volumes spike beyond $12 billion, significantly exceeding expected figures and surpassing larger exchanges like Binance.

Bitget took swift action by freezing the accounts in question and reversing dubious trades to recover misappropriated profits. Gracy Chen, the CEO, emphasized that the trades in question were executed solely by individual market participants and affirmed the platform’s integrity and user fund safety.

Policy on Recovery

Jiayin further confirmed that the recovered assets would be returned to the impacted users through airdrops, with a comprehensive report detailing the incident expected soon.

Speculative Background

Speculation suggest that a flaw in a market-making bot may have caused the ballooning of VOXEL trading volumes. Savvy traders reportedly exploited this issue, leveraging high positions to take advantage of the situation, which allowed them to profit without incurring costs. VOXEL is the native token of Voxies, a tactical RPG built on the Ethereum blockchain.

Conclusion

The case underscores ongoing challenges in the cryptocurrency trading landscape, including the implications of high-leverage trading and manipulation practices.