Based on new algorithms and specific research methodology, the Blockchain Transparency Institute (BTI) – a group of blockchain and cryptocurrency enthusiasts, researchers and devotees who aim to clean up the industry as much as possible – has published a Market Surveillance Report saying that 85% of Tron and Ethereum Classic traded volumes were falsified.
This was done via a few different wash trading methods which are intended to deceive investors by increasing the number of trades, making the asset seem a lot more viable than it really is.
Specific Details about the Fabrications
According to the report, more than a hundred tokens available on the market have had their figures largely blown up by as much as half of the original figure. The report said:
“There are currently 150 tokens out of the 567 tokens currently listed on the real top 40 largest exchanges who’s volumes are being wash traded over 50% daily.”
The report also said that both Tron and Ethereum Classic are the tokens most fabricated of all the tokens in the top 25 rankings. More specifically, the BTI reports that about $33.2 million is Tron’s correct trading volume for the month of April.
This is a considerably small number compared to the $218 million that was reported. In the case of Ethereum Classic (ETC), more than $150 million was reported as the trading volume but only about $22.8 million seems to be real as the rest of it, running over $120 million, is fake.
There’s a high chance that investors and holders who are pretty dedicated to either of these coins would be terribly disappointed and if this happens, said stakeholders might choose to withdraw.
BTI’s Wash-Trading Detection
The publication also mentions a new methodology called the BTI Verified Self-Regulatory Initiative which identifies irregularities and also offers this information to exchange firms hoping they can use the data to sanitize themselves. BTI also claims that their method is a lot more precise than the processes used by these exchange firms to do the same wash trading identification.
BTI also states that more than half of the top 25 exchanges are almost completely fake. The report said:
“We found 17 of the CMC (CoinMarketCap) Top 25 exchanges to be over 99%+ fake with many greater than 99.5% fake volumes, including 25 of the top 50 adjusted volume rankings.”
BTI says that based on their own ranking by actual volume, the first five exchanges are Binance, Huobi, Upbit, OKEx, and Bitfinex, in that order.
Wash Trading Explained
This is a method employed by many exchange firms and other blockchain ventures to blow up their trading volumes. These firms use it to trick people into believing in a particular token thereby manipulating them into buying these tokens from their firm. Other crypto ventures employ wash trading to manipulate investors into putting their money into a particular coin which is probably the native/base coin for that venture.
Wash trading is an unfair and unlawful practice and should be completely shunned.
