Market Manipulation Suspected in VOXEL/USDT Futures Contract
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has identified abnormal trading behavior involving the VOXEL/USDT perpetual futures contract on April 20, prompting the platform to pause and review suspicious accounts. The irregularities reportedly occurred between 8:00 and 8:30 UTC, according to an official statement.
The exchange stated it will roll back affected accounts within the next 24 hours and claw back ill-gotten gains resulting from the suspicious trades. The move is part of a broader effort to ensure fair market conditions and platform integrity.
CEO Gracy Chen: “User Funds Remain Safe”
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Bitget CEO Gracy Chen confirmed that the trades in question were conducted by individual market participants, not Bitget itself. She emphasized that user funds are safe, and the platform remains secure.
“The losses are not platform-wide. We are fully prepared to compensate affected users,” said Chen.
#Hyperliquid may be on track to become #FTX 2.0.
The way it handled the $JELLY incident was immature, unethical, and unprofessional, triggering user losses and casting serious doubts over its integrity. Despite presenting itself as an innovative decentralized exchange with a…
— Gracy Chen @Bitget (@GracyBitget) March 26, 2025
Chen also revealed that Bitget will soon announce a formal compensation plan, leveraging its $300 million protection fund to minimize residual losses for impacted users.
“Our protection fund provides more than sufficient backing to support our users in such events, assuring that user assets remain secure,” she added.
Comparisons to Hyperliquid-JELLY Incident
The Bitget situation has drawn comparisons to the March 2025 exploit involving Hyperliquid and its JELLY perpetual contracts. In that case, a trader used a complex strategy to manipulate JELLY’s price by hedging opposing positions, which triggered mass liquidations and overwhelmed the Hyperliquidity Provider Vault (HLP).
Hyperliquid eventually delisted JELLY, a move that drew widespread criticism from the crypto community — including Bitget’s own CEO.
“The decision to close the JELLY market and force settlement of positions at a favorable price sets a dangerous precedent,” Chen said in a March 26 X post.
“Trust — not capital — is the foundation of any exchange.”
That criticism has now come full circle, with observers scrutinizing how Bitget handles its own futures market irregularities.
Final Thoughts: Transparency Will Be Key for Bitget
Bitget’s proactive measures — including rolling back manipulative accounts, offering user compensation, and publicly communicating the issue — could serve to strengthen trust in the platform, especially after the backlash seen in similar incidents.
However, how Bitget defines manipulation, implements rollbacks, and compensates users will be closely watched by the broader crypto community. As Gracy Chen herself noted, “trust” is the foundation of any exchange — and Bitget now has an opportunity to prove it.
