Alexey Andryunin: A Path from Open Admission to Criminal Prosecution

The cryptocurrency market has long attracted not only honest investors but also scammers willing to manipulate prices and trading volumes. The story of Gotbit founder Aleksey Andryunin clearly demonstrates how activities that initially seemed simply “unethical” have escalated into serious criminal prosecution by U.S. authorities.

Aleksey Andryunin Pleads Guilty to Market Manipulation

Last week, 26-year-old Russian entrepreneur Aleksey Andryunin reached a plea agreement with American prosecutors. Under the terms of the deal, he agreed to serve no more than two years in prison for participating in what law enforcement described as a large-scale conspiracy to artificially inflate the value of cryptocurrency assets.

After extradition from Portugal to the U.S. in February of this year, Andryunin faced serious charges. Initially, he was charged with two counts of electronic fraud and market manipulation using digital communications. Each charge carried a potential sentence of up to 25 years in prison. However, thanks to the plea deal, the punishment was significantly reduced.

As part of his plea agreement, Aleksey Andryunin agreed to forfeit approximately $23 million held in stablecoins. These funds were obtained through his criminal activities. U.S. authorities do not seek any additional fines beyond this amount.

Gotbit: How the Company Profited from Fake Trading Volumes

Gotbit positioned itself as something between a market maker and a full-fledged trading consultant. However, in reality, the company provided services that are unlikely to be considered legitimate. Its main “product” was creating artificial trading activity for crypto projects seeking to attract investor attention and secure listings on major data aggregators.

When U.S. prosecutors issued charges in October 2025, they detailed Gotbit’s scheme. The company essentially acted as a “hired” market manipulator, charging clients for artificially inflating trading volumes. The clients were crypto projects that paid a fee to appear more active and liquid than they actually were.

In addition to Gotbit, U.S. authorities accused several other organizations of similar activities. Among the suspected firms were CLS Global, MyTrade, and ZMQuant. All are charged with providing services to manipulate prices and volumes in favor of their clients.

From Youthful Confession to Criminal Prosecution

Notably, Aleksey Andryunin never hid the true nature of his business. In an interview he gave in 2019, at just 20 years old and still a second-year student at Moscow State University, the young entrepreneur openly discussed his company’s methods. He admitted that Gotbit’s activities were “not entirely ethical” and explained in detail how bot-driven trading systems were used to create the illusion of high demand for tokens of new projects. His goal was clear: to get these projects into the TOP on the CoinMarketCap platform.

At that time, his confession went largely unnoticed. Instead of attracting regulators’ attention, the interview even drew new clients. According to him, after the public discussion, the number of orders from crypto projects increased. It seemed that the rules in the crypto space worked differently.

However, years passed, and the stance of U.S. authorities toward market manipulation in cryptocurrencies hardened. What in 2019 was seen as merely “unethical” and somewhat amusing, by 2025-2026 was no longer tolerated. Aleksey Andryunin became one of the first major victims of this shift in priorities.

Why Andryunin’s Case Matters for the Industry

The story of Aleksey Andryunin and Gotbit sends a clear signal to investors: market manipulation in crypto is no longer without consequences. Today, trading volumes that look too good to be true may be the result of hired manipulators, and this constitutes outright fraud against investors.

Additionally, the case demonstrates the evolution of the international approach to combating crypto crime. Andryunin’s extradition from Portugal showed that U.S. law enforcement is willing to pursue suspects worldwide. As legislation tightened, geographic location ceased to be a shield.

The final sentencing date for Aleksey Andryunin has not yet been set, but the conditions of the plea agreement already indicate the seriousness with which U.S. justice approaches such cases.