Bitget Flags VOXEL Manipulation as Market Volumes Hit 6-Month Low

Trading activity across the cryptocurrency market has slowed significantly in recent days, with both centralized and decentralized exchange volumes falling to their lowest levels since October 2024. 

The cooling trend comes even as derivatives activity remains elevated, and coincides with Bitget’s investigation into abnormal trading behavior on its VOXEL/USDT perpetual futures contract. The exchange has paused suspicious accounts and pledged user compensation, reflecting broader concerns about market integrity during a period of declining participation and rising speculative trading.

Bitget Cracks Down on VOXEL Futures Market Manipulation, Pledges Compensation and Transparency

In a swift and decisive move, cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has announced it detected abnormal trading activity on the VOXEL/USDT perpetual futures contract on April 20 between 08:00 and 08:30 UTC. The suspicious behavior has raised concerns across the crypto trading community, drawing parallels to a similar controversy that unfolded on Hyperliquid just weeks earlier.

According to an official statement from the exchange, Bitget paused accounts suspected of engaging in market manipulation and has committed to rolling back the profits from the alleged exploit within the next 24 hours. 

While full details of the trades have not been made public, Bitget confirmed the incident involved individual market participants and not the platform itself.

The VOXEL/USDT perpetual futures contract saw an extraordinary spike of over 138% in just a single day, according to TradingView data, prompting immediate speculation of foul play. Some traders suspect coordinated manipulation, with sudden price swings forcing liquidations and triggering margin calls that affected other unsuspecting users.

In response, Bitget has pledged to compensate users who suffered losses due to the activity and is preparing a formal compensation plan. Chen reaffirmed the company’s commitment to user protection and market fairness.

“For any residual losses, Bitget is fully prepared to offer compensation. Our $300 million protection fund provides more than sufficient backing to support our users in such events, assuring that user assets remain secure,” Chen emphasized.

Market Manipulation or Exploit? Echoes of the Hyperliquid-JELLY Controversy

The incident has stirred memories of a similar trading controversy involving the Hyperliquid exchange in March. During that event, a trader successfully manipulated the price of the meme coin Jelly-my-Jelly (JELLY) by hedging a long position against a short one, artificially pumping the token’s price by over 400%. The resulting liquidation of shorts overwhelmed the platform’s liquidity infrastructure and forced trades to settle through Hyperliquid’s HLP Vault.

Hyperliquid responded by delisting JELLY perpetual contracts, a move that drew sharp criticism from the crypto community — including Bitget’s own CEO.

Ironically, Bitget now finds itself in a similar spotlight, navigating the thin line between decisive platform governance and the free-market ethos that defines decentralized finance.

The Bitget VOXEL incident has reignited debate around the responsibilities of centralized crypto exchanges in the face of algorithmic exploits, volatile market behavior, and technical vulnerabilities. 

While Bitget’s commitment to compensation and rollback is seen as a positive step, traders are calling for increased transparency around risk management protocols and trade monitoring systems.

Moreover, as the perpetual futures market continues to expand in popularity, industry observers are warning that bad actors could increasingly exploit loopholes unless more robust detection mechanisms and liquidation policies are put in place.

The crypto space has long walked the tightrope between decentralization and regulation. Incidents like these highlight the urgent need for clearer rules of engagement and better safeguards to maintain trust without stifling innovation.

Crypto Trading Volumes Plunge to Six-Month Lows Despite April Volatility Surge

Despite a brief flurry of activity in early April fueled by geopolitical developments — most notably President Donald Trump’s tariff threats — trading volumes across major cryptocurrency exchanges have slumped to their lowest levels in over six months, signaling a sharp drop in market participation and investor enthusiasm.

Data from leading analytics platforms show that the seven-day moving average of trading volume across top centralized exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, and Bitfinex, sank to just $32 billion on Saturday, April 20. This marks the lowest level since mid-October 2024 and represents a staggering 75% drop from the peak of $132 billion reached in early December of last year.

Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are not immune to the broader decline either. Projections indicate that April’s total DEX volume is set to clock in at its lowest since October 2024, erasing gains made during the DeFi revival in Q1. Analysts suggest that reduced on-chain activity, particularly among retail traders and smaller institutions, is contributing to the slump.

Even spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which had been enjoying steady inflows in Q1, have recently witnessed shrinking volumes. According to data from SoSoValue:

• Spot Bitcoin ETF volume hit a new low of $1.55 billion on Thursday, April 17 — the quietest trading day since March 25.

• Spot Ethereum ETF volume was similarly muted at $178.76 million, its lowest since March 27.

This softening interest comes even as both Bitcoin and Ethereum posted modest price gains last week, suggesting that the volume drop is less about price direction and more about market structure and sentiment.

Traders Shift from Spot to Speculative Futures

While spot volumes decline, one area is heating up: futures trading. The 30-day moving average ratio of spot to futures trading volume for Bitcoin has dropped to 0.19 — meaning that spot trading now makes up just 19% of the futures volume. That’s the lowest ratio recorded since August 2024.

Ethereum shows a nearly identical trend, with its spot/futures ratio falling to 0.20, a level not seen since December 2023.

This pivot to futures indicates a growing preference for speculative and often leveraged positions rather than outright purchases of crypto assets. Lower spot-to-futures ratios often reflect reduced real demand for underlying tokens, a potentially concerning signal for long-term market health and adoption.

One exception to the malaise is Solana, which appears to be regaining traction after a two-month lull. According to data, Solana’s weekly exchange volume has seen a slight uptick relative to Ethereum, reversing a downtrend that extended from mid-January to mid-March.

In a tweet from Solana’s official X account, the network claimed that it accounted for 70% of all crypto app revenue on a single day last week — a testament to growing usage of Solana-based dApps and decentralized finance platforms.

Analysts suggest that while Solana’s recent momentum may not be enough to revive broader market volume trends, it reflects a divergent narrative where certain ecosystems are still innovating and attracting user activity, even as general liquidity dries up.

What’s Driving the Volume Drop?

Market experts point to several overlapping factors:

• Macro uncertainty, including Trump’s tariff rhetoric and ongoing concerns about US monetary policy, have made traders more cautious.

• Low volatility in major crypto assets has dampened interest from both institutional and retail traders.

• Exhaustion from the Q1 rally could also be prompting a period of market consolidation and risk-off behavior.

With April drawing to a close, traders and analysts will be watching closely to see whether volumes rebound in May — historically one of crypto’s more active months — or whether this slump is a sign of broader fatigue.

As futures trading continues to dominate and ETF enthusiasm wanes, centralized and decentralized exchanges alike may need to rethink incentives, user experience, and risk controls to draw traders back into the fold.