Trading of the MYX token, the cryptocurrency for the MYX decentralized exchange (DEX), has shown signs of market manipulation, as outlined in a report from AI infrastructure company Rena Labs and market intelligence firm Insider.Cash.
The report examined over 9,200 minute-by-minute data entries from Sept. 9 to Monday, revealing 249 anomalies related to illiquidity, volume spikes, price ratios, and trade intensity.
The analysis indicated that MYX liquidity anomalies on the Gate exchange surged by 433% on Sept. 9, with 32 illiquidity events recorded on Sunday and Monday, suggesting either deliberate market manipulation or the withdrawal of market makers, who typically provide liquidity and stabilize markets during periods of extreme stress.
Average trade sizes for the MYX token shrank by 67% during times of “peak” illiquidity, and trading frequency dropped by 45% during the monitoring period, decreasing from 157 to 86 trades per minute, while bid-ask spreads reduced to 8.2% on Monday from 15.8% on Sept. 9.
Related: What is MYX Finance and why has it soared 1,400% in seven days?
Bid-ask spreads, the difference between buying and selling prices, usually widen in times of high illiquidity and narrow when liquidity is abundant. The “paradoxical” behavior of bid-ask spreads during peak illiquidity raised red flags for the researchers. They stated:
“The temporal synchronization of these extreme deviations across otherwise independent market microstructure metrics strongly suggests coordinated, multi-vector manipulation strategies, rather than organic trading activity driven by fundamental news or natural market forces.”
Representatives from Rena Labs informed Cointelegraph that the probability of all anomalies across four market dimensions—illiquidity, volume spikes, price ratios, and trade intensity—happening simultaneously is less than 0.001%, rendering the chance of organic trading activity “a mathematical impossibility.”
Cointelegraph reached out to MYX Finance but did not receive a response before publication.
BubbleMaps raises concerns over MYX token airdrop
On Sept. 9, Blockchain analytics platform Bubblemaps reported that the recent MYX token airdrop may have been the target of the largest Sybil attack in crypto history.
A Sybil attack is a malicious tactic in which a single entity creates multiple accounts, creating the illusion of organic network activity.
Bubblemaps reported that one entity, managing 100 newly funded wallets, acquired over 9.8 million MYX tokens and profited $170 million from the airdrop.
Magazine: What do crypto market makers actually do? Liquidity, or manipulation?
