 ▲ Virtual assets, insider trading, price manipulation/AI-generated image |
Axiom, a well-known influencer group in the cryptocurrency market, has come under scrutiny over allegations of large-scale insider trading and price manipulation following the leak of a confidential internal conference call recording.
According to a cryptocurrency media outlet on February 27 (local time), the release of an audio file containing conversations among Axiom insiders revealed a premeditated $200,000 accumulation plan designed to artificially inflate the price of a specific token. The leaked recording included detailed methods in which group members used personal wallets to avoid detection and purchased assets in advance before promoting them to retail investors. They discussed deploying $200,000 to secure holdings before disclosing information to the public and selling once prices surged—a classic pump-and-dump scheme.
The scandal began after indications emerged that Axiom-affiliated influencers attempted to pre-accumulate tokens in collusion with a project based on Solana (SOL). In private conversations, they allegedly boasted that by using enhanced-security personal wallets, transaction histories would be impossible to trace externally, boldly conspiring to carry out the scheme. Voices in the released audio were heard describing how easy it was to leverage their influence to drive up prices, displaying a dismissive attitude toward deceiving investors.
Cryptocurrency analysts and on-chain investigators are now examining whether Axiom may have previously used similar tactics to inflate the prices of multiple projects before offloading holdings onto retail investors. The recently exposed $200,000 plan is suspected to be only a fraction of broader coordinated manipulation, with claims that larger-scale operations may have been repeated over an extended period. Investigators are comparing wallet addresses mentioned in the leaked audio with actual on-chain transaction data to secure concrete evidence.
Axiom has yet to respond immediately regarding the authenticity of the leaked audio file, but within the community its credibility has plummeted, triggering intense criticism. As concerns grow over the ethical lapses of influencers harming the integrity of the cryptocurrency market, calls for strict investigations and penalties from regulatory authorities have intensified. Many investors have also warned of the dangers of blindly trusting opaque paid groups or recommendations from specific communities.
This incident highlights the risks of insider trading that exploit information asymmetry within the cryptocurrency market, serving as a wake-up call for many investors. The $200,000 accumulation plan detailed in the leaked recording could become critical evidence in future legal investigations, and heightened price volatility is expected for projects associated with Axiom. Market experts caution that without a transparent disclosure framework, similar price manipulation schemes may continue to occur.
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