Bitget Pauses Accounts After 138% VOXEL Spike, Vows Compensation

Bitget, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, has recently flagged abnormal trading behavior on its VOXEL/USDT perpetual futures contract. The incident, which occurred on April 20 between 08:00 and 08:30 UTC, has raised concerns about market manipulation and integrity within the crypto trading community. Bitget has taken swift action by pausing accounts suspected of engaging in manipulative activities and has committed to rolling back the profits from the alleged exploit within 24 hours. The exchange has also pledged to compensate users who suffered losses due to this activity, emphasizing its commitment to user protection and market fairness.

The VOXEL/USDT perpetual futures contract experienced an extraordinary spike of over 138% in a single day, prompting immediate speculation of foul play. Some traders suspect coordinated manipulation, with sudden price swings forcing liquidations and triggering margin calls that affected other unsuspecting users. Bitget's response includes a formal compensation plan, with the exchange's $300 million protection fund providing sufficient backing to support users in such events.

This incident has drawn parallels to a similar controversy involving the Hyperliquid exchange in March, where a trader manipulated the price of the meme coin Jelly-my-Jelly (JELLY) by hedging a long position against a short one. The resulting liquidation of shorts overwhelmed the platform’s liquidity infrastructure and forced trades to settle through Hyperliquid’s HLP Vault. Hyperliquid responded by delisting JELLY perpetual contracts, a move that drew criticism from the crypto community.

The Bitget VOXEL incident has reignited debate around the responsibilities of centralized crypto exchanges in the face of algorithmic exploits, volatile market behavior, and technical vulnerabilities. While Bitget’s commitment to compensation and rollback is seen as a positive step, traders are calling for increased transparency around risk management protocols and trade monitoring systems. Industry observers warn that bad actors could increasingly exploit loopholes unless more robust detection mechanisms and liquidation policies are put in place.

Despite the recent flurry of activity in early April fueled by geopolitical developments, trading volumes across major cryptocurrency exchanges have slumped to their lowest levels in over six months. This signals a sharp drop in market participation and investor enthusiasm. The seven-day moving average of trading volume across top centralized exchanges sank to just $32 billion on Saturday, April 20, marking the lowest level since mid-October 2024 and representing a staggering 75% drop from the peak of $132 billion reached in early December of last year. Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are also experiencing a decline, with April’s total DEX volume set to clock in at its lowest since October 2024, erasing gains made during the DeFi revival in Q1.

Even spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which had been enjoying steady inflows in Q1, have recently witnessed shrinking volumes. This softening interest comes even as both Bitcoin and Ethereum posted modest price gains last week, suggesting that the volume drop is less about price direction and more about market structure and sentiment. Traders are shifting from spot to speculative futures, with the 30-day moving average ratio of spot to futures trading volume for Bitcoin dropping to 0.19, meaning that spot trading now makes up just 19% of the futures volume. Ethereum shows a nearly identical trend, with its spot/futures ratio falling to 0.20.

This pivot to futures indicates a growing preference for speculative and often leveraged positions rather than outright purchases of crypto assets. Lower spot-to-futures ratios often reflect reduced real demand for underlying tokens, a potentially concerning signal for long-term market health and adoption. One exception to the malaise is Solana, which appears to be regaining traction after a two-month lull. Solana’s weekly exchange volume has seen a slight uptick relative to Ethereum, reversing a downtrend that extended from mid-January to mid-March. Analysts suggest that while Solana’s recent momentum may not be enough to revive broader market volume trends, it reflects a divergent narrative where certain ecosystems are still innovating and attracting user activity, even as general liquidity dries up.

Market experts point to several overlapping factors driving the volume drop, including macro uncertainty, low volatility in major crypto assets, and exhaustion from the Q1 rally. With April drawing to a close, traders and analysts will be watching closely to see whether volumes rebound in May or whether this slump is a sign of broader fatigue. As futures trading continues to dominate and ETF enthusiasm wanes, centralized and decentralized exchanges alike may need to rethink incentives, user experience, and risk controls to draw traders back into the fold.