PAX Gold (paxg) 
Two South Korean men have been arrested and charged with price manipulation on the popular crypto exchange Bithumb. The alleged scheme involved manipulating the price of the Fusionist token, ACE, resulting in nearly $5 million in gains.
Market Manipulation Charges
The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office’s Virtual Asset Joint Investigation Team apprehended 33-year-old CEO of virtual asset operator M, Lee, alongside a former employee of M, Kang. The pair were charged with price manipulation and violating the South Korean Virtual Asset User Protection Act.
Investigation and Findings
According to the police investigation, Lee and Kang manipulated the price of the blockchain-based gaming project Fusionist’s native token, ACE. Bithumb is the only crypto exchange in South Korea known to list ACE for market trading.
The investigation revealed that Lee and Kang submitted fake buy and sell orders to inflate the ACE price, selling around 1.22 million ACE tokens and making a profit of approximately 7.1 billion won ($4.8 million).
Red Flags and Market Activity
The suspicious trading activity was first detected on July 22, 2024, when the Fusionist token’s trading volume increased by nearly 15 times in a single day to about 2.45 million. This unusual market activity prompted authorities to investigate the scheme.
At the time of writing, ACE has experienced a slight dip of 0.3% in the past 24 hours. However, over the past year, the Fusionist token has fallen by nearly 75%. ACE has a market cap of around $92 million and a fully diluted valuation of $319 million.
Tips for Crypto Investors
To avoid falling victim to price manipulation schemes, crypto investors should:
- Conduct thorough research on the crypto exchange and the token before investing.
- Monitor market activity and trading volumes for unusual patterns.
- Be cautious of sudden price fluctuations and investigate the underlying causes.
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