Two men were convicted of manipulating the price of Hydrogen Technology's HYDRO crypto and planning to defraud investors. This case was the first time a jury in a federal criminal trial classified cryptocurrencies as securities and found that crypto price manipulation constituted securities fraud. ๐๏ธ
Court documents and trial evidence reveal that Kane, CEO of Hydrogen Technology, and Hampton, Head of Financial Engineering, asked Moonwalkers Trading Limited of South Africa to manipulate the price of HYDRO. From October 2018 to April 2019, the company used automated trading bots to place fake and fraudulent orders on US crypto exchanges.
Kane, Hampton, and their associates executed approximately $7 million in โwash tradesโ and placed more than $300 million in โspoof tradesโ for HYDRO. These trades misled retail investors into purchasing HYDRO at inflated prices, resulting in the conspirators profiting approximately $2 million in ten months.
Kane pleaded guilty in November 2023 to one count of conspiracy to commit securities price manipulation, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and two counts of wire fraud. Hampton was convicted by a federal jury on Feb. 7 of one count of conspiracy to commit securities price manipulation and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
What do you think about this case? Will this affect your views on crypto investing? Share your opinion in the comments column! ๐