Three crypto executives extradited from Singapore appeared in federal court in Oakland on Monday, as US prosecutors widened a wash-trading case that now includes charges against 10 foreign nationals linked to four crypto market-making firms.
The court proceedings mark the latest development in a US crackdown on alleged wash trading in digital asset markets, stemming from an undercover operation first revealed in October 2024, according to a Tuesday statement from the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
Authorities said the cases focus on firms including Gotbit, Vortex, Antier and Contrarian, and involve conduct dating back to 2018. Prosecutors allege these entities carried out coordinated trading schemes designed to inflate token prices and trading volumes, making assets appear more liquid and in demand than they actually were.
The DOJ noted that the Gotbit-related indictment was filed in March 2025, followed by a Vortex case in August 2025 and a joint Contrarian–Antier case in September 2025, building on a broader international enforcement effort that began with initial charges unsealed in October 2024.
In that earlier phase, US authorities charged 18 individuals and entities as part of a global operation targeting widespread crypto investment fraud and market manipulation. This was accompanied by a parallel action from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which described “market-manipulation-as-a-service” offerings linked to Gotbit and associated actors.
The DOJ said that Vortex CEO Gleb Gora, Contrarian CEO Manu Singh and Contrarian employee Vasu Sharma were arrested in Singapore in October 2025, extradited to the United States, and made their initial court appearances in California on Monday.
DOJ expands multi-year crypto wash trading crackdown
The indictments outline tactics such as wash trading, matched orders and other prearranged transactions aimed at generating artificial trading volume, propping up token prices and creating the illusion of genuine investor demand before insiders sold their holdings.
These latest actions build on earlier guilty pleas and penalties in related cases. Gotbit, for example, agreed to shut down operations and forfeit roughly $23 million in seized cryptocurrency as part of a plea deal tied to alleged manipulation of low-liquidity tokens.
In a separate case in January, UAE-based CLS Global agreed to plead guilty in Massachusetts to charges of manipulating trading activity in NexFundAI (NEXF)—a token created by the FBI to expose fraudulent crypto market-making schemes. The firm also agreed to pay a $428,059 fine, forfeit funds across multiple exchanges and accept a US trading ban under its settlement with prosecutors and the SEC.
US prosecutors and regulators have consistently warned that wash trading remains a persistent issue in crypto markets, arguing that artificially inflated volumes can mislead investors about true liquidity and demand.
