Inside Binance and DWF’s alleged market manipulation saga – What’s going on?

• DWF reportedly made over $300 million from market manipulation at Binance
• Binance allegedly fired an employee who flagged DWF’s shady tactics 

One of the largest crypto-market makers, DWF, was reportedly involved in market manipulation on Binance [BNB]. 

According to a WSJ (Wall Street Journal) report, DWF allegedly made over $300 million from Binance through shady means. Part of the report read, 

“Binance’s investigators found that DWF manipulated the price of YGG (Yield Guide Games) and at least six other tokens, and made over $300 million in wash trades in 2023, concluding these were violations of the terms of use, according to some of the former company insiders.”

The aforementioned pump and dump, alongside wash trades, are manipulative market schemes. Ergo, Binance’s market surveillance report recommended removing DWF from the exchange’s VIP list to ensure the platform’s integrity. 

Binance reportedly fired its surveillance team lead

Here, it’s worth noting that WSJ also alleged that the surveillance team’s report was disregarded, and the team’s lead was fired a week after submitting the DWF assessment. According to the same, rejecting surveillance reports whenever they conflicted with prominent clients has apparently been a norm. 

For its part, DWF distanced itself from the allegations and stated, 

“We want to clarify that many recent allegations reported in the press are unfounded and distort the facts.”

Andrei Grachev, Managing Partner at DWF, was quick to downplay the allegations too, stating,

“We work hard, do our best, and get larger share every day. Someone is not happy because of this, but we BUIDL. LFG!”

Apart from being a market maker, DWF Labs has backed a wide range of crypto-projects, CoinMarketCap data revealed.

Interestingly, some crypto-market watchers aren’t surprised by DWF market manipulation allegations. One said, 

“Its no secret- Big exchanges and their affiliates trade against retail”

The allegations add depth to the regulatory challenges Binance has faced over the past year. Notably, the exchange entered a plea deal and paid $4 billion for flouting U.S anti-money laundering laws last year. Later, in 2024, former CEO “CZ” was sentenced to four months. 

BNB didn’t react much to the reports though as it extended its price consolidation between $500 and $615, a sideways movement that began in mid-March.