- Bitget launched legal action against 8 accounts accused of manipulating VOXEL futures prices.
- Over $20 million was allegedly gained by professional groups during the April 20 incident.
- Bitget plans to airdrop recovered funds to affected users and release a full incident report.
Bitget has launched legal action against eight accounts accused of manipulating the price of VOXEL futures contracts. According to the exchange, the traders improperly gained more than $20 million during a surge in trading activity on April 20. This legal move signals growing concerns about market manipulation in the crypto futures space.
Bitget’s head of Chinese operations, Xie Jiayin, announced that the platform had issued eight legal letters in quick succession. She stated taht the targeted accounts belonged to professional arbitrage groups. After detecting abnormal trading activity in the VOXEL/USDT perpetual futures market, the platform paused certain accounts.
Notably, on April 20, the trading volumes for VOXEL futures on Bitget reached over $12 billion, exceeding normal activity. During the surge, the price spiked from $0.021 to $0.139 before falling again. According to CoinGecko data, as of press time, it trades around $0.074.
According to sources, Bitget CEO Gracy Chen stated that trades involved individual market participants and not the platform itself, and emphasized that user funds are safe. Bitget rolled back suspicious trades and plans to distribute 100% of recovered funds to users via airdrops. Further, she added that those accounts that are not among the accused will not face any action. The incident highlights the rising challenges in cryptocurrency futures trading, especially as volumes and leverage opportunities grow.
Bitget is still investigating the full cause of the abnormal activity amid users speculating the presence of a bug in a market maker bot, which could have contributed to the trading irregularities. Traders who spotted the bug early reportedly placed high-leverage bets to exploit price swings.
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The crypto exchange is preparing a full incident report to explain the situation transparently to users. Bitget stressed that it remains committed to community trust and platform security. All upcoming actions will be designed to guarantee market fairness and maintain accountability, according to officials.
Meanwhile, the FBI and global authorities continue to raise concerns about vulnerabilities in the digital asset markets. As the sector grows, exchanges like Bitget face increased pressure to maintain integrity and prevent abuse. Bitget’s proactive legal action could set a precedent for how crypto trading platforms address manipulation risks. The exchange emphasized that its focus remains on protecting legitimate users and restoring confidence after the incident. Further updates are expected after Bitget’s complete investigation report is released.
