Arthur Cheong, founder of Defiance Capital, has raised concerns over alleged market manipulation within the crypto industry by projects and market makers.

He accused them of artificially sustaining token prices while centralized exchanges (CEXs) turn a blind eye.

Cheong Warns Market Is Becoming ‘Uninvestable’

In an April 14 post on X, Cheong claimed that the liquid crypto market is plagued by a “complete black box” system in which the involved parties collaborate to engineer token valuations.

“You don’t know whether the price is a result of organic demand and supply,” he wrote, “or simply due to projects and market makers colluding to fix the price to achieve other objectives.”

Cheong also criticized the CEXs, suggesting they are deliberately ignoring these practices despite their damaging impact. He noted that the altcoin market is increasingly resembling a “lemon’s market,” where reduced trust makes quality harder to identify.

He further argued that token generation events (TGEs) in 2025 have been poorly priced, with many coins dropping between 70% and 90% within months of listing, leaving buyers facing major losses.

The Defiance Capital CIO concluded by emphasizing that unless major players in the crypto space take action to fix these issues, many parts of the market will remain unsafe for serious investors in the future.

MANTRA Crash Sparks Manipulation Fears

His comments follow the April 13 collapse of MANTRA’s native token, OM, which saw its market value nosedive by 90% in a matter of hours. John Patrick Mullin, a co-founder of the protocol, claimed the crash was caused by forced liquidations carried out by CEXs.

However, blockchain data revealed unusual activity in the days leading up to the incident. Analytics platform Lookonchain reported that 17 wallets sent 43.6 million OM tokens, about 4.5% of all coins in circulation, to exchanges starting on April 7. Two of those wallets were linked to Laser Digital, a known investor in MANTRA, raising suspicions of insider selling.

Meanwhile, Spot On Chain said whale OM holders moved 14.27 million tokens to OKX three days before the crash. Further, they had bought over 84 million OM for $564.7 million in March, which added to fears of a planned sell-off.

Earlier in the year, the Libra token faced similar scrutiny. Following Argentinian President Javier Milei’s public endorsement,  the coin’s market cap surged to $4 billion within hours before crashing by over 90%, wiping out millions in investor funds.

The country’s Chamber of Deputies has since approved an investigation into LIBRA, focusing on Milei’s social media promotion of the meme coin and its subsequent collapse.

TL;DR

• One Dogecoin developer cautioned the community to avoid people promoting dubious tokens resembling Dogecoin’s name.

• DOGE’s price is heating up after a solid week, with analysts predicting a potential surge toward $0.29 and even new highs.

DOGE Community, Stay Alert

The biggest meme coin has one of the largest and most devoted community bases across all cryptocurrencies, making it a prime target for fraudulent schemes. 

The pseudonymous developer and prominent contributor in the Dogecoin ecosystem, who goes by the X moniker inevitable360 recently issued an important warning.

They advised community members to stay away from anyone promoting tokens that resemble the OG meme coin’s name. The X user opined that those should be taken as schemes since they don’t have their own blockchain, like Dogecoin or Bitcoin, for example. 

“If someone really wants to help others or save dogs, don’t need any token no matter the excuse,” the developer added.

The cautionary note follows Dogecoin’s recent advancements, which have fueled optimism within the community. Last week, 21Shares teamed up with the House of Doge to launch Dogecoin ETP on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The product is 100% physically backed, “offering a transparent and seamless way” for investors to gain exposure to the asset through traditional financial channels.

Additionally, 21Shares filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for approval to introduce a spot Dogecoin ETF. Thus, it followed the example of Grayscale and Bitwise, which have previously displayed such intentions. As of this writing, the chances of an approved spot DOGE ETF before the end of 2025 stand at around 64%. 

DOGE Price Outlook

The warning also comes after a successful week for the token, during which its price has risen by almost 20%. Currently, it trades at around $0.16, while the market capitalization stands just south of $25 billion.

Some analysts believe the uptrend is still at its starting point, envisioning further gains in the short term. Ali Martinez claimed a close above $0.17 could open the door to an upswing to $0.21 or $0.29 as long as Dogecoin holds the key $0.13 support.

The X user JAVON MARKS is even more optimistic. They think DOGE looks ready to put on “yet another magical bullish performance” to a new all-time high.

Bitcoin made a strong comeback this week, as it trades close to $85,000 after dumping below $74,000 last Monday. Despite the earlier market chaos triggered by Trump’s tariff imposition and the subsequent 90-day pause, new data revealed that Binance whales are not panicking amid the current period of macroeconomic uncertainty.

This is found after considering two key indicators – the Exchange Whale Ratio and the Binance Whale to Exchange Flow.

Binance Whales Unfazed

First, the Exchange Whale Ratio on Binance, which compares the top 10 inflows to the total inflows, shows a major trend, according to the latest report by CryptoQuant. The 365-day moving average (DMA) is steadily increasing, which indicates that whale involvement in Bitcoin has grown larger over time, especially during bullish phases.

However, the 30-day moving average (DMA) reveals a short-term decrease in whale activity, returning to levels last observed in September/October 2024. This suggests that while whale participation remains significant, their short-term influence may be waning, which could possibly signal reduced selling pressure.

The second indicator, the Binance Whale to Exchange Flow, tracks the 30-day value of whale inflows. The data shows a notable decline, with whale inflows dropping by more than $3 billion – a decrease comparable to previous corrections in 2024. This drop in inflows indicates that whales are less likely to engage in aggressive selling and are opting instead to hold onto their positions.

As such, CryptoQuant’s analysis observed that Binance whales are not reacting to market uncertainty with panic. Instead, they appear to be consolidating their holdings rather than capitulating. Such a trend potentially reflects a sense of cautious optimism or strategy amid broader market volatility.

The same cannot be said for the US institutional investors.

US Institutions Shaken

Investor sentiment in the US was impacted by trade tensions following President Trump’s tariff plans, which prompted a significant rise in outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs last week. Between April 7 and April 11, institutional investors withdrew a portion of their capital from Bitcoin funds, with total net outflows reaching $713 million.

SoSo Value’s data revealed that BlackRock’s IBIT fund saw the largest outflow, with $343 million in net withdrawals, accounting for nearly half of the total outflows.