In a landmark case, two men have been sentenced for manipulating the price of Hydrogen Technology’s cryptocurrency, HYDRO, marking the first time a federal criminal trial jury has classified a cryptocurrency as a security and deemed price manipulation as securities fraud.

The co-founder and CEO of Hydrogen Technology, Michael Kane, and the company's Head of Financial Engineering, Shane Hampton, were found guilty of enlisting South African firm, Moonwalkers Trading Limited, to artificially inflate the price of HYDRO using an automated trading bot.

From October 2018 to April 2019, approximately $7 million in "wash trades" and over $300 million in "spoof trades" were conducted, misleading retail investors into purchasing HYDRO at inflated prices. The scheme resulted in a profit of approximately $2 million for the conspirators over ten months.

Kane and Hampton were convicted of conspiracy to commit securities price manipulation and wire fraud, with Kane receiving a sentence of three years and nine months in prison, and Hampton sentenced to two years and 11 months. This case serves as a significant precedent in the regulation of cryptocurrency and its classification as a security under federal law.