How to catch market manipulation in altcoins before they crash
Crypto market manipulation involves organized efforts to artificially move altcoin prices and mislead traders about their true value.
Researching fundamentals, diversifying portfolios, setting stop-losses and avoiding hype-driven channels are key to protecting your funds.
The altcoin market offers immense opportunities for those looking to invest in cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin
BTC
$108,450
. However, it’s also a hunting ground for manipulators who leave unsuspecting retail investors waiting for profits that never come, while they make off with the funds. Recognizing these tactics is essential for self-preservation.
This article explains the tactics and objectives of market manipulators. It helps you recognize warning signs of potential altcoin crashes, identify manipulative activities and understand how to protect your funds.
Crypto market manipulation involves organized efforts to artificially move altcoin prices and mislead traders about their true value.
Researching fundamentals, diversifying portfolios, setting stop-losses and avoiding hype-driven channels are key to protecting your funds.
The altcoin market offers immense opportunities for those looking to invest in cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin
BTC
$108,450
. However, it’s also a hunting ground for manipulators who leave unsuspecting retail investors waiting for profits that never come, while they make off with the funds. Recognizing these tactics is essential for self-preservation.
This article explains the tactics and objectives of market manipulators. It helps you recognize warning signs of potential altcoin crashes, identify manipulative activities and understand how to protect your funds.
Babylon claims breakthrough in using native Bitcoin collateral in DeFi: Finance Redefined
Babylon unveils a proof-of-concept for using native Bitcoin in DeFi lending, as BNB Chain and Hyperliquid post major updates.
Bitcoin infrastructure company Babylon Labs claimed to have developed a system that enables native Bitcoin to be used as collateral for borrowing assets on Ethereum.
Babylon Labs co-founder and Stanford University professor David Tse said on Wednesday that the company built a proof-of-concept that allows native Bitcoin to be used “trustlessly” as collateral for loans on Ethereum.
The comments follow a white paper release from the company, revealing a Bitcoin trustless vault system that leverages Bitcoin smart contract verification BitVM3 to lock BTC in per-user vaults. Here, withdrawals are gated by proofs of external smart contract state verified on Bitcoin.
This system allows users to lock Bitcoin and bring it to Ethereum without relying on a custodian or bridge.
Babylon unveils a proof-of-concept for using native Bitcoin in DeFi lending, as BNB Chain and Hyperliquid post major updates.
Bitcoin infrastructure company Babylon Labs claimed to have developed a system that enables native Bitcoin to be used as collateral for borrowing assets on Ethereum.
Babylon Labs co-founder and Stanford University professor David Tse said on Wednesday that the company built a proof-of-concept that allows native Bitcoin to be used “trustlessly” as collateral for loans on Ethereum.
The comments follow a white paper release from the company, revealing a Bitcoin trustless vault system that leverages Bitcoin smart contract verification BitVM3 to lock BTC in per-user vaults. Here, withdrawals are gated by proofs of external smart contract state verified on Bitcoin.
This system allows users to lock Bitcoin and bring it to Ethereum without relying on a custodian or bridge.
ETH bulls unmoved by surprise sell-off below $3.7K: Here’s why
Ether’s price rebound potential hinges on improving US credit and labor data, as traders show caution after recent liquidations and volatility in derivatives markets.
Ether whale activity near $3,700 suggests limited bearish conviction, though confidence in a swift recovery toward $4,500 remains subdued.
Ether
ETH
$3,958
dropped 9.5% on Friday, retesting the $3,700 level and triggering $232 million in leveraged long liquidations within 48 hours. The unexpected correction came amid a broader risk-off move fueled by credit concerns after two US regional banks announced write-offs on bad loans.
Ether derivatives data shows moderate unease among bullish traders, but whale positioning suggests most are not expecting a deeper decline. The key question now is whether the $3,700 support will hold as macroeconomic risks intensify.
Ether’s price rebound potential hinges on improving US credit and labor data, as traders show caution after recent liquidations and volatility in derivatives markets.
Ether whale activity near $3,700 suggests limited bearish conviction, though confidence in a swift recovery toward $4,500 remains subdued.
Ether
ETH
$3,958
dropped 9.5% on Friday, retesting the $3,700 level and triggering $232 million in leveraged long liquidations within 48 hours. The unexpected correction came amid a broader risk-off move fueled by credit concerns after two US regional banks announced write-offs on bad loans.
Ether derivatives data shows moderate unease among bullish traders, but whale positioning suggests most are not expecting a deeper decline. The key question now is whether the $3,700 support will hold as macroeconomic risks intensify.
Grok, DeepSeek outperform ChatGPT, Gemini with epic crypto market long
Grok 4 generated a 500% gain on the first day after identifying the crypto market bottom and switching to leveraged long positions.
Grok and DeepSeek outperformed other major artificial intelligence chatbots in cryptocurrency trading, timing the market’s local bottom before a recovery rally and hinting at a possible edge for users who rely on their insights.
Grok 4 and DeepSeek were the two best-performing generative AI chatbots in a crypto trading competition launched by developers that received viral attention.
DeepSeek generated a total unrealized profit of $3,650 as the most profitable chatbot, followed by Grok with about $3,000 in unrealized profits, according to blockchain data platform CoinGlass.
Claude’s Sonet 4.5 came third with $2,340 in generated profit, followed by Qwen3 Max, which generated $784 since the start of the trading competition.
Grok 4 generated a 500% gain on the first day after identifying the crypto market bottom and switching to leveraged long positions.
Grok and DeepSeek outperformed other major artificial intelligence chatbots in cryptocurrency trading, timing the market’s local bottom before a recovery rally and hinting at a possible edge for users who rely on their insights.
Grok 4 and DeepSeek were the two best-performing generative AI chatbots in a crypto trading competition launched by developers that received viral attention.
DeepSeek generated a total unrealized profit of $3,650 as the most profitable chatbot, followed by Grok with about $3,000 in unrealized profits, according to blockchain data platform CoinGlass.
Claude’s Sonet 4.5 came third with $2,340 in generated profit, followed by Qwen3 Max, which generated $784 since the start of the trading competition.
Ethereum Foundation veteran Dankrad Feist joins Stripe’s Tempo team
Feist, who is one of the Ethereum Foundation's key researchers, said that Tempo and Ethereum share similar values and "complement" each other.
Dankrad Feist, a longtime Ethereum developer and researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, said Friday that he’s joining Tempo, a layer-1 blockchain for payments and stablecoins built by Stripe and Paradigm.
Feist said he will remain as a “research adviser” at the Ethereum Foundation to provide input on scaling the layer-1 network, improving user experience (UX), and blobs, a feature of the Ethereum network that frees up blockspace by temporarily storing data. He added:
I am looking forward to staying involved with the community and continuing to push Ethereum forward,” he said. Cointelegraph reached out to Feist but was unable to receive a response by the time of publication.
Feist, who is one of the Ethereum Foundation's key researchers, said that Tempo and Ethereum share similar values and "complement" each other.
Dankrad Feist, a longtime Ethereum developer and researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, said Friday that he’s joining Tempo, a layer-1 blockchain for payments and stablecoins built by Stripe and Paradigm.
Feist said he will remain as a “research adviser” at the Ethereum Foundation to provide input on scaling the layer-1 network, improving user experience (UX), and blobs, a feature of the Ethereum network that frees up blockspace by temporarily storing data. He added:
I am looking forward to staying involved with the community and continuing to push Ethereum forward,” he said. Cointelegraph reached out to Feist but was unable to receive a response by the time of publication.
Robinhood’s tokenization drive on Arbitrum now includes nearly 500 US stock and ETF tokens worth over $8.5 million, as the brokerage deepens its RWA push.
Robinhood has expanded its tokenization initiative on the Arbitrum blockchain, deploying 80 new stock tokens in the past few days and bringing the total number of tokenized assets close to 500.
According to data from Dune Analytics, Robinhood has tokenized 493 assets with a total value exceeding $8.5 million. Cumulative mint volume has surpassed $19.3 million, offset by around $11.5 million in burning activity, signaling a growing but actively traded market.
Stocks account for nearly 70% of all deployed tokens, followed by exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at about 24%, with smaller allocations to commodities, crypto ETFs and US Treasurys.
Robinhood has expanded its tokenization initiative on the Arbitrum blockchain, deploying 80 new stock tokens in the past few days and bringing the total number of tokenized assets close to 500.
According to data from Dune Analytics, Robinhood has tokenized 493 assets with a total value exceeding $8.5 million. Cumulative mint volume has surpassed $19.3 million, offset by around $11.5 million in burning activity, signaling a growing but actively traded market.
Stocks account for nearly 70% of all deployed tokens, followed by exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at about 24%, with smaller allocations to commodities, crypto ETFs and US Treasurys.
BitMine’s Lee says Ether’s ‘price dislocation’ is a signal to buy
BitMine chairman Tom Lee said he expects Ethereum to enter a supercycle, making the current price an attractive risk vs reward purchase.
BitMine chairman Tom Lee has confirmed the company went on an Ether buying spree after the crypto market saw one of its most significant deleveraging events earlier this month.
“Open interest for ETH sits at the same levels as seen on June 30th of this year, ETH was $2,500, given the expected Supercycle for Ethereum, this price dislocation represents an attractive risk/reward,” he said in a statement on Monday.
BitMine bought up another $250 million Ether
ETH
$3,891
on Monday from crypto exchanges Bitgo and Kraken, according to blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence.
This now brings BitMine more than halfway to its goal of holding 5% of Ether’s total token supply, with total Ether holdings now at over 3.3 million tokens worth over $13 billion, and representing 2.74% of the total supply.
BitMine chairman Tom Lee said he expects Ethereum to enter a supercycle, making the current price an attractive risk vs reward purchase.
BitMine chairman Tom Lee has confirmed the company went on an Ether buying spree after the crypto market saw one of its most significant deleveraging events earlier this month.
“Open interest for ETH sits at the same levels as seen on June 30th of this year, ETH was $2,500, given the expected Supercycle for Ethereum, this price dislocation represents an attractive risk/reward,” he said in a statement on Monday.
BitMine bought up another $250 million Ether
ETH
$3,891
on Monday from crypto exchanges Bitgo and Kraken, according to blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence.
This now brings BitMine more than halfway to its goal of holding 5% of Ether’s total token supply, with total Ether holdings now at over 3.3 million tokens worth over $13 billion, and representing 2.74% of the total supply.
US political turmoil tests ‘institutional confidence’ as crypto ETFs bleed
The outflows came as “No Kings” protests swept across the US amid a prolonged government shutdown and political division, deepening market risk aversion.
US spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) extended their losing streak Monday, marking another day of outflows as investor sentiment remained fragile amid mounting political and macroeconomic uncertainty.
According to data from SoSoValue, spot Bitcoin
BTC
$108,424
ETFs recorded $40.47 million in net outflows on Monday, their fourth consecutive day of withdrawals. BlackRock’s IBIT led the losses, shedding $100.65 million, while Fidelity’s FBTC and Bitwise’s BITB posted inflows of $9.67 million and $12.05 million, respectively.
The cumulative total net inflow in spot Bitcoin ETFs now stands at $61.50 billion, with total net assets slipping to $149.66 billion, or about 6.76% of Bitcoin’s market capitalization.
The outflows came as “No Kings” protests swept across the US amid a prolonged government shutdown and political division, deepening market risk aversion.
US spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) extended their losing streak Monday, marking another day of outflows as investor sentiment remained fragile amid mounting political and macroeconomic uncertainty.
According to data from SoSoValue, spot Bitcoin
BTC
$108,424
ETFs recorded $40.47 million in net outflows on Monday, their fourth consecutive day of withdrawals. BlackRock’s IBIT led the losses, shedding $100.65 million, while Fidelity’s FBTC and Bitwise’s BITB posted inflows of $9.67 million and $12.05 million, respectively.
The cumulative total net inflow in spot Bitcoin ETFs now stands at $61.50 billion, with total net assets slipping to $149.66 billion, or about 6.76% of Bitcoin’s market capitalization.
Ethereum fails again above $4K as traders grow frustrated with shakeouts
Ether ran into resistance at $4,000 as the absence of new buyers and weak spot Ethereum flows threatened ETH price dropping to $3,100 next.
Declining spot buying and mounting spot Ethereum ETF outflows signal weak demand, risking further losses for Ether.
Ether’s bear flag projects a 20% price drop to $3,100.
Ether
ETH
$3,873
fell to $3,800 on Tuesday, failing to hold $4,000 as spot Ethereum ETF investors continued their net redemptions. This came as the technical setup pointed to a deeper correction for ETH price.
Ether price faces “strong resistance” at $4,000
Ether’s 16% recovery from a $3,500 low reached on Oct. 11 was curtailed by selling around the $4,000 psychological barrier.
This showed that “there is a strong resistance at $4K,” said trader Philakone in an X post on Monday.
Ether ran into resistance at $4,000 as the absence of new buyers and weak spot Ethereum flows threatened ETH price dropping to $3,100 next.
Declining spot buying and mounting spot Ethereum ETF outflows signal weak demand, risking further losses for Ether.
Ether’s bear flag projects a 20% price drop to $3,100.
Ether
ETH
$3,873
fell to $3,800 on Tuesday, failing to hold $4,000 as spot Ethereum ETF investors continued their net redemptions. This came as the technical setup pointed to a deeper correction for ETH price.
Ether price faces “strong resistance” at $4,000
Ether’s 16% recovery from a $3,500 low reached on Oct. 11 was curtailed by selling around the $4,000 psychological barrier.
This showed that “there is a strong resistance at $4K,” said trader Philakone in an X post on Monday.
SharpLink adds 19,000 ETH, lifting holdings to $3.5B as companies buy the dip
SharpLink increased its ETH holdings following a $76.5 million raise, with staking rewards topping $23 million since its treasury launch in June.
SharpLink Gaming has expanded its Ether treasury to 859,853 ETH, worth roughly $3.5 billion, following a $76.5 million capital raise completed on Friday.
The company announced the acquisition of an additional 19,271 ETH at an average cost of $3,892 per Ether
ETH
$3,877
in a press release on Tuesday.
SharpLink earned 5,671 ETH in staking rewards since launching its Ethereum treasury strategy in June. At current prices of about $4,100 per ETH, those rewards are worth around $23.25 million.
Staking allows SharpLink to deploy its ETH holdings as validators on Ethereum’s proof-of-stake network, turning part of its treasury into a yield-generating asset through rewards.
SharpLink increased its ETH holdings following a $76.5 million raise, with staking rewards topping $23 million since its treasury launch in June.
SharpLink Gaming has expanded its Ether treasury to 859,853 ETH, worth roughly $3.5 billion, following a $76.5 million capital raise completed on Friday.
The company announced the acquisition of an additional 19,271 ETH at an average cost of $3,892 per Ether
ETH
$3,877
in a press release on Tuesday.
SharpLink earned 5,671 ETH in staking rewards since launching its Ethereum treasury strategy in June. At current prices of about $4,100 per ETH, those rewards are worth around $23.25 million.
Staking allows SharpLink to deploy its ETH holdings as validators on Ethereum’s proof-of-stake network, turning part of its treasury into a yield-generating asset through rewards.
Ethereum enters final testnet phase ahead of Dec. 3 Fusaka upgrade
The cap on individual transactions aims to improve block efficiency, reduce DoS risks and lay the groundwork for parallel execution in future upgrades like Glamsterdam.
Ethereum is entering the final testnet phase of its Fusaka upgrade, the last major step before its expected mainnet rollout on Dec. 3. The update introduces a per-transaction gas cap of about 16.78 million units to enhance block efficiency and prepare the network for parallel execution.
The change, already active on the Holesky and Sepolia testnets, is designed to prevent single transactions from consuming an entire block’s gas. Previously, a single transaction could use up to the full block gas limit of around 45 million, posing potential denial-of-service risks and limiting scalability.
A gas cap limits how much processing power a single transaction can use, ensuring no transaction can monopolize an entire block, and allowing the network to handle activity more evenly.
The cap on individual transactions aims to improve block efficiency, reduce DoS risks and lay the groundwork for parallel execution in future upgrades like Glamsterdam.
Ethereum is entering the final testnet phase of its Fusaka upgrade, the last major step before its expected mainnet rollout on Dec. 3. The update introduces a per-transaction gas cap of about 16.78 million units to enhance block efficiency and prepare the network for parallel execution.
The change, already active on the Holesky and Sepolia testnets, is designed to prevent single transactions from consuming an entire block’s gas. Previously, a single transaction could use up to the full block gas limit of around 45 million, posing potential denial-of-service risks and limiting scalability.
A gas cap limits how much processing power a single transaction can use, ensuring no transaction can monopolize an entire block, and allowing the network to handle activity more evenly.
Ocean Protocol’s team faces $250K bounty after $120M crypto dump allegations
While Ocean Protocol denied the allegations, onchain data points to an Ocean Protocol-linked multisignature wallet converting about 661 million Ocean tokens into 286 million FET.
The ongoing feud between Fetch.ai CEO Humayun Sheikh and Ocean Protocol Foundation took another twist, as the CEO issued a bounty for more information related to an alleged misappropriation of tokens worth millions of dollars.
Sheikh, in an X post on Tuesday, offered a $250,000 reward for more information on the signatories of OceanDAO’s multisignature wallet and their connection to the Ocean Protocol Foundation.
A multisignature or multisig wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet that requires multiple signatures to execute and process a transaction.
The $250,000 bounty offer comes days after the CEO alleged that a team wallet related to Ocean Protocol misappropriated about 286 million Fetch.ai
FET
$0.24
tokens worth about $80 million at press time.
While Ocean Protocol denied the allegations, onchain data points to an Ocean Protocol-linked multisignature wallet converting about 661 million Ocean tokens into 286 million FET.
The ongoing feud between Fetch.ai CEO Humayun Sheikh and Ocean Protocol Foundation took another twist, as the CEO issued a bounty for more information related to an alleged misappropriation of tokens worth millions of dollars.
Sheikh, in an X post on Tuesday, offered a $250,000 reward for more information on the signatories of OceanDAO’s multisignature wallet and their connection to the Ocean Protocol Foundation.
A multisignature or multisig wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet that requires multiple signatures to execute and process a transaction.
The $250,000 bounty offer comes days after the CEO alleged that a team wallet related to Ocean Protocol misappropriated about 286 million Fetch.ai
FET
$0.24
tokens worth about $80 million at press time.
Why crypto is a trap-heavy market
The way crypto trades sets it up for traps.
Markets run 24/7, and a growing share of volume comes from high-leverage perpetual futures. That means even small order imbalances can trigger sharp, short-lived moves.
That’s why bull traps and bear traps are so common in crypto.
A bull trap happens when the price pokes above resistance and then reverses, while a bear trap occurs when the price dips below support and quickly snaps back. These fake breakouts often result from forced liquidations and mean reversion, clearing out crowded positions.
Liquidity is typically thinnest during weekends and off-hours. Market makers widen spreads to manage risk, and a single headline can move prices beyond key levels before liquidity returns.
The way crypto trades sets it up for traps.
Markets run 24/7, and a growing share of volume comes from high-leverage perpetual futures. That means even small order imbalances can trigger sharp, short-lived moves.
That’s why bull traps and bear traps are so common in crypto.
A bull trap happens when the price pokes above resistance and then reverses, while a bear trap occurs when the price dips below support and quickly snaps back. These fake breakouts often result from forced liquidations and mean reversion, clearing out crowded positions.
Liquidity is typically thinnest during weekends and off-hours. Market makers widen spreads to manage risk, and a single headline can move prices beyond key levels before liquidity returns.