Crypto Market Manipulation Tactics Spreading to Digital Asset Treasuries, Analyst Warns

Market manipulation tactics long prevalent in cryptocurrency token launches are now emerging in digital asset treasuries (DATs), according to Shane Molidor, who warns that the shift threatens to import crypto's transparency problems into traditional finance.

Molidor explained that crypto token listings are engineered by exchanges, market makers, and issuers who deliberately underprice launches and maintain thin liquidity to create artificial price surges. "They're incentivized to curate prices to go up and to the right," he said, noting that retail traders mistake these engineered pumps for genuine market strength and end up "buying all-time highs."

These same dynamics are now affecting DATs—companies that hold cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets. As competition intensifies, many DATs are moving beyond liquid assets like Bitcoin to target smaller, less liquid tokens, making them more susceptible to manipulation.

The treasury fundraising process also enables front-running, as insiders gain early information about upcoming token purchases and can position themselves ahead of price movements. "Now that we're getting into lower-valuation, lower-liquidity assets, front-running is becoming much more evident," Molidor added.

He attributed the problem to mutual misunderstanding: blockchain founders lack financial market expertise while institutions don't grasp crypto's unique mechanics, creating conditions where speculation and information asymmetry flourish.