On April 20, 2025, the trading volume of a little-known gaming token, Voxies (VOXEL), surged beyond imagination on the Bitget platform. A technical glitch pushed the VOXEL/USDT contract to generate $12.7 billion in volume within just 24 hours, eclipsing even Bitcoin’s $4.76 billion trading volume. The event revealed critical flaws in trading security and forced Bitget to initiate urgent recovery measures for affected users.
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What Happened?
The VOXEL scandal started when Bitget’s trading system malfunctioned, leading to a sudden and highly suspicious trading frenzy. VOXEL, a modest token connected to a free-to-play blockchain game with a market cap under $30 million, became the unlikely epicenter of attention.
Bitget’s trading bot persistently bought and sold VOXEL within a narrow price band between $0.125 and $0.138, creating an opportunity for quick-witted traders to reap massive profits. On-chain analyst Dylan observed that with just $100, some individuals secured profits running into six-figure sums. Several users managed to walk away with tens or even hundreds of thousands of USDT in mere hours.
Bitget responded swiftly, with spokesperson Xie Jiayin confirming the initiation of an internal investigation and warning that affected accounts might face temporary restrictions. Jiayin stated:
“Every platform, at every stage of development, may encounter challenges and uncertainties, yet these are an inevitable part of the journey. Bitget will provide the event details and resolution within 24 hours.”
Bitget’s Response to the Scandal
In the immediate aftermath, Bitget temporarily suspended trading, deposit, and withdrawal functions for accounts suspected of abnormal activity during the critical 30-minute window. In its official statement, Bitget acknowledged that market manipulation was suspected between 16:00 and 16:30 (UTC+8) on April 20, 2025, which triggered its internal risk control systems.
While some accounts faced restrictions, Bitget assured users that platform funds remained completely safe and that most users would not be affected by the incident. Moreover, the platform launched a compensation program for users who suffered losses while actively trading the VOXELUSDT contract during the glitch period.
In an effort to ease growing tensions, Bitget emphasized that it would continue to strengthen its security measures and optimize risk control systems to prevent such incidents in the future.
Lawyer’s Letters and Fund Recovery
The saga took a new turn on April 27 when Xie Jiayin provided more detailed updates through a post on the X platform. According to Jiayin, Bitget plans to issue eight lawyers’ letters directed at accounts believed to be closely linked to the exploitation of the VOXEL glitch. These eight accounts allegedly orchestrated improper profits totaling over $20 million.
In order to restore trust among users, Jiayin confirmed that Bitget will redistribute 100% of the recovered funds back to users via an airdrop mechanism. The post clearly outlined:
“Bitget will distribute 100% of the recovered funds to platform users in the form of airdrops.”
Furthermore, Jiayin reassured that except for these eight accounts, no other users who traded VOXEL during the critical period needed to worry, as their accounts were restored by the following Wednesday, and no further actions would be pursued against them.
Damage Control and Rebuilding User Trust
Bitget said that their technical team is working to undo the trades that were affected and is slowly fixing the accounts that had problems. Jiayin also said on X that the team is closely checking the affected accounts and that some accounts have already had their trades rolled back and are now able to trade, deposit, and withdraw again.
Acknowledging the situation, Bitget pledged to take full responsibility for any liquidations resulting from account operation restrictions during the trading halt. Users who participated actively in the VOXEL trades and incurred contract losses between 16:00 and 16:30 on April 20 are eligible for appropriate compensation.
However, the scandal raised serious questions within the crypto community regarding the adequacy of Bitget’s risk management and system stability, sparking broader concerns about the vulnerabilities present even in prominent exchanges.
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