The trading of the MYX token, the cryptocurrency linked to the MYX decentralized exchange (DEX), exhibited signs of market manipulation, as reported by AI infrastructure firm Rena Labs in collaboration with market intelligence provider Insider.Cash.
Analyzing over 9,200 data points minute-by-minute from Sept. 9 through Monday, the report identified 249 anomalies related to illiquidity, volume surges, price ratios, and trading intensity.
On Sept. 9, liquidity anomalies for MYX on the Gate exchange soared by 433%, with 32 illiquidity events recorded over Sunday and Monday. This surge indicates potential market manipulation or the withdrawal of market makers, who are essential for maintaining liquidity during extreme market conditions.
Average trade sizes for the MYX token dropped by 67% during the “peak” illiquidity periods, with trading frequency declining by 45% during the observed timeframe, moving from 157 trades per minute to 86. Meanwhile, bid-ask spreads contracted from 15.8% on Sept. 9 to 8.2% on Monday.
Related: What is MYX Finance and why is it up 1,400% in seven days?
Bid-ask spreads, which represent the difference between buying and selling prices, typically widen under conditions of high illiquidity and narrow during periods of abundant liquidity. Researchers flagged the “paradoxical” behavior of bid-ask spreads during peak illiquidity as a concern. 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 observed anomalies—illiquidity, volume spikes, price ratios, and trading intensity—occurring simultaneously is less than 0.001%, rendering the chance of organic trading activity virtually impossible.
Cointelegraph attempted to contact MYX Finance for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
BubbleMaps raises concerns over MYX token airdrop
On Sept. 9, Blockchain analytics platform Bubblemaps alleged that the recent MYX token airdrop may have faced the largest Sybil attack in crypto history.
A Sybil attack is a type of malicious operation where an attacker creates multiple accounts that are managed by a single entity, simulating genuine network activity.
Bubblemaps reported that a single entity, controlling 100 newly funded wallets, claimed over 9.8 million MYX tokens and realized a profit of $170 million from the token airdrop.
Magazine: What do crypto market makers actually do? Liquidity, or manipulation
