Aleksei Andriunin, founder and CEO of crypto market maker Gotbit, has been sentenced to eight months in prison for his role in a multi-million-dollar wash trading scheme that inflated trading volumes for various cryptocurrencies. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley in Boston, following Andriunin’s guilty plea in March 2025 to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation. The 26-year-old, a dual citizen of Russia and Portugal, was arrested in Portugal in October 2024 and extradited to the U.S. in February 2025. As part of a plea agreement, Andriunin agreed to forfeit $23 million in stablecoins held in crypto wallets linked to Gotbit. Gotbit Consulting LLC, the firm he founded, was also sentenced to five years’ probation and is required to cease operations. The company admitted to offering wash trading services between 2018 and 2024, manipulating trading volumes to help client tokens appear more active and gain listings on exchanges and CoinMarketCap. You might also like: $8.2 million company with stock down 99.8% to invest $500 million in crypto, 50% down since Jan. What could possibly go wrong? Gotbit’s blockchain evasion Prosecutors said Gotbit used multiple accounts to avoid blockchain detection and received tens of millions of dollars in client payments for these services. Tokens involved in the scheme included Robo Inu and Saitama. Company directors Fedor Kedrov and Qawi Jalili were also indicted. Gotbit is the third crypto market maker charged in relation to illegal trading practices, following actions against MyTrade and CLS Global, according to the Justice Department. The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a separate civil enforcement action against Gotbit for securities law violations. As part of his sentence, Andriunin will also serve one year of supervised release and is barred from crypto-related activity during that period. You might also like: Invesco and Galaxy register Solana ETF trust in Delaware
