MyTrade founder Liu Zhou fined $10K by DOJ for operating wash-trading bots across 60 cryptocurrencies.
Regulation & Gov ·
Liu Zhou, founder of MyTrade, received a $10,000 fine and no prison sentence from a Boston federal court for operating a wash-trading service that artificially inflated volume across approximately 60 cryptocurrencies. Zhou pleaded guilty to market manipulation and wire fraud conspiracy charges in connection with the October 2024 indictment, which named 17 other co-conspirators alongside him.
MyTrade's business model offered clients a dashboard interface to request daily volumes of fabricated trades, which automated systems then executed on multiple exchanges under a product branded "Volume Support." When communicating with undercover investigators posing as prospective clients, Zhou described how the service functioned and stated that its purpose was to attract uninformed market participants whose losses would generate profit for those orchestrating the trades. The Justice Department's investigation employed a sting operation featuring a fictional crypto venture called NexFundAI, complete with website and token infrastructure, to document the market manipulation services offered across the industry.
The sentencing included a requirement that MyTrade cease offering its wash-trading product and publish a notice on its website acknowledging the service as illegal under U.S. law. The broader enforcement action produced charges against multiple other market-making entities operating similar schemes.