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The FBI made a cryptocurrency to catch scammers

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The FBI made a cryptocurrency to catch scammers

Illustration: franckreporter (Getty Images)

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U.S. authorities are cracking down on crypto scammers by turning their own tactics against them. For the first time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has disclosed that it created a cryptocurrency to bait and capture fraudsters.

The FBI claims the strategy worked, spurring market-manipulation and fraud charges against several crypto companies, including Gotbit, CLS Global, MyTrade, and ZM Quant, as well as 18 individuals. The agency says it seized more than $25 million in crypto, and several trading bots that were allegedly manipulating around 60 cryptocurrencies were shut down.

“What the FBI uncovered in this case is essentially a new twist to old-school financial crime,” said Jodi Cohen, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston division.

As part of “Operation Token Mirrors,” the FBI created an Ethereum-based (ETH) cryptocurrency called NexFundAI Token to target fraudulent token developers, promoters, and market makers. The defendants allegedly lured investors with false claims and engaged in wash trading, a deceptive practice where trades are made to create the illusion of heightened market activity and demand. The manipulation inflated token prices, allowing the scammers to sell their holdings at artificially elevated prices. These market manipulators were unaware that the FBI created the token as part of the sting operation.

“This investigation, the first of its kind, identified numerous fraudsters in the cryptocurrency industry. Wash trading has long been outlawed in the financial markets, and cryptocurrency is no exception,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy. The news comes more than two years after the FBI announced the formation of a cryptocurrency unit within the agency.

The Securities & Exchange Commission has also filed civil complaints against Gotbit, CLS, ZM Quant, Saitama, and other companies, accusing them of securities law violations. NexFundAI token trading has been disabled, but its price was up by over 1,558% when fraudsters were active.

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Robinhood’s Q3 trading revenue jumps 129% YoY, ‘primarily driven by cryptocurrency revenue’

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Robinhood’s Q3 trading revenue jumps 129% YoY, ‘primarily driven by cryptocurrency revenue’

Shares of Robinhood’s stock, ticker HOOD, were up over 4.15% at market close on Wednesday after the U.S.-based brokerage posted third-quarter gains. The firm saw transaction-based revenues jump 129% year-over-year to $730 million, “primarily driven by cryptocurrencies revenue,” according to the earnings report. 

Crypto revenue was up over 300% in Q3 to $268 million. Options revenues, Robinhood’s largest revenue source, were up about 50% to $304 million, while equities trading revenue increased 132% to $86 million. 

“Q3 was another strong quarter of profitable growth, and we continued to diversify our business, adding two more business lines — Prediction Markets and Bitstamp — that are generating approximately $100 million or more in annualized revenues,” Chief Finance Officer Jason Warnick said in a release.

In total, Robinhood’s total revenue came in at $1.27 billion, more than the $1.19 billion expected, while earnings per share came in at $0.61, ahead of estimates around $0.53, according to CNBC projections. 

This is compared to Robinhood’s Q2 gains, which saw crypto trading volume increase 32% year-over-year to $28 billion and transaction-based cryptocurrencies revenue climb 98% to $160 million.

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Meanwhile, the number of funded customers on Robinhood increased by 2.5 million year-over-year to a record 26.8 million in Q3, corresponding with “total platform assets” growing nearly 120% to a record $333 billion.

Of note, Robinhood has been working to increase its footprint in the European market, including through its acquisition of Bitstamp, a deal closed in June that enabled it to roll out crypto perps across the EU, and a partnership with Arbitrum to launch over 400 Stock Tokens mirroring U.S. equities. 

The firm also acquired the Canada-based WonderFi exchange in an all-cash $179 million deal in Q2 2025.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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