The FBI literally created a fake crypto token called NexFundAI, listed it on Uniswap, built a website and whitepaper around it, then hired market makers as part of an undercover sting. Agents allegedly asked firms if they could fake trading activity to make the token look active and popular. According to the DOJ, multiple firms agreed almost immediately, offering wash trading, bots, coordinated wallets, and fake volume to make the chart look bullish enough for real traders to buy in.
The operation led to arrests, extraditions, asset seizures, and charges across several countries. But the biggest takeaway is how much crypto momentum can apparently be manufactured behind the scenes. A chart looks strong, people assume demand is real, retail piles in, while the activity could just be bots trading against themselves. Even though NexFundAI was literally created by the FBI as bait, real people still bought it because the volume and price action looked convincing enough.
THIS IS ACTUALLY INSANE!🤯
The FBI launched its own crypto token last year just to trap the scammers.
They were sick of pump and dumps. So they built a real token with a real site and real branding, called it NexFundAI, and waited to see who would show up.
Within weeks, scammers were lining up to fake the volume for undercover agents.
Then one of them got on a recorded call and said it out loud. Their entire business model was making regular people lose money so they could profit.
The FBI had all of it on tape.
18 charged. $25M seized. Arrests across 3 countries.
The wildest part? The FBI ran a cleaner crypto project than half the founders out there. And the whole thing was a trap from day one.