Bitget to Sue Eight Accounts Over $20M VOXEL Trading Manipulation

Highlights:

• Bitget is taking legal action against eight accounts accused of manipulating VOXEL token price.
• The exchange plans to return recovered funds to users via airdrops.
• Security concerns grow as crypto exchanges face manipulation and exploits like the VOXEL incident.

Crypto exchange Bitget is pursuing legal action against eight accounts for manipulating the VOXEL token, causing a price surge and market instability. Bitget’s head of Chinese operations Jiayin Xie stated in an April 27 X post that the exchange would send eight legal letters to those suspected accounts, which it believes were operated by a professional arbitrage group. She mentioned that Bitget intends to return all recovered funds from the legal actions to affected users via airdrops.

Xie said:

“Except for these eight accounts, all other users who participated in VOXEL trading on April 20 and have withdrawn funds do not need to worry. The accounts have been restored to normal and no responsibility will be pursued in the future.”

Bitget Suspends Accounts After VOXEL Token Surge

On April 20, VOXEL surged by more than 200% in just 30 minutes on Bitget, reaching $0.1645. It then retreated to $0.09131, still about 40% higher than its initial price. Bitget swiftly identified unusual activity in VOXEL/USDT perpetual futures trading. VOXEL is the native token of Voxies, a free-to-play, 3D tactical RPG on the Ethereum blockchain.

The exchange soon noticed suspicious volumes and drastic price swings. As a result, Bitget moved quickly to suspend certain accounts from trading, depositing, and withdrawing. Bitget states that most users were unaffected, but it has not revealed who was behind the activity. Bitget has assured users that the incident was not caused by an internal failure or exploit.

The cryptocurrency exchange Bitget said it would issue eight lawyers' letters, saying they were the main instigators of the VOXEL incident and had gained more than $20 million from it. Bitget will distribute 100% of the recovered funds to platform users in the form of airdrops.… https://t.co/idxkaqbk3k

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) April 27, 2025

The crypto sector has seen many major exploits in recent years. Hackers and manipulators often took advantage of weak liquidity, bugs, or faulty trading bots. Because of this, security concerns across exchanges keep growing. The platform stated that a full report on the VOXEL incident will be released soon. For now, the eight accounts under investigation stay suspended as legal actions continue.

Bitget Faces Criticism

On X, some crypto traders suggested there was a problem with Bitget’s market-making system. Others compared the situation to casinos suing players for hitting a jackpot. Some have also drawn comparisons to a March price manipulation incident on Hyperliquid involving the JELLY token. Bitget’s CEO, Gracy Chen, had earlier criticized Hyperliquid’s handling of that case. After the VOXEL issue, critics accused her of showing hypocrisy.

The incident has also raised concerns about Bitget’s hybrid custody model. Bitget is growing its global user base, now exceeding 100 million users, with a daily trading volume of $20 billion. The exchange’s native token, BGB, has also seen notable growth, reflecting ongoing investor confidence. The crypto space is focused on how the exchange handles compensation and legal responsibility after the VOXEL issue.