In a stunning fall from grace, Gotbit founder Aleksei Andriunin has accepted a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors that will likely send the young Russian entrepreneur to prison for up to two years. The 26-year-old has admitted to orchestrating a widespread conspiracy to manipulate cryptocurrency token prices for paying clients.

Andriunin, who was extradited from Portugal to the United States last month, pleaded guilty to two serious charges: wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud. These offenses typically carry a maximum combined sentence of 25 years behind bars, but the plea agreement caps his potential imprisonment at 24 months.

As part of the deal, Andriunin will forfeit approximately $23 million in stablecoins connected to his illicit activities. Prosecutors are not pursuing additional financial penalties beyond this substantial forfeiture.

The case against Gotbit revealed a troubling business model that essentially offered market manipulation services for hire. Crypto projects looking to artificially boost their tokens’ volume and price could engage Gotbit’s wash-trading services – a practice where an entity simultaneously buys and sells the same asset to create misleading market activity.

What makes this case particularly remarkable is Andriunin’s previous openness about his questionable business practices. Back in 2019, while still a sophomore at Moscow State University, he candidly admitted in an interview that his business was “not entirely ethical.” He even detailed how he utilized automated bot trading to generate enough artificial trading volume for clients’ projects to secure listings on CoinMarketCap.

Gotbit wasn’t operating in isolation. U.S. prosecutors simultaneously charged several other firms with offering similar market manipulation services, including CLS Global, MyTrade, and ZMQuant. Multiple employees and promoters from these companies also face charges.

The court has not yet scheduled Andriunin’s sentencing date.