LAB ($LAB) Faces Market Manipulation Claim With OnChain Proof

LAB, a blockchain-based decentralized trading platform, is currently facing massive market manipulation allegations. The claims arose after several on-chain transactions raised questions about the project’s trading activity and token supply control.

In a recent X post, on-chain investigator Specter claims that wallets linked to the LAB team still control a large amount of the token supply. The latest manipulation claim comes as the broader crypto market shows signs of recovery.

On-Chain Activity Sparks Manipulation Concerns

According to Specter, a particular wallet believed to be connected to the project team deposited roughly 40 million LAB tokens to Bitget on April 8. The tokens were worth approximately $13.6 million.

Notably, the movement of these large token transactions happened shortly before LAB began a strong price rally in early May. However, the move has drawn significant backlash from the crypto community.  

Interestingly, reports further disclosed that a week before the price spike started on May 1, wallets allegedly connected to the team moved another 96 million LAB tokens. This was valued at nearly $63 million by the Bitget exchange.

While these transactions have fueled speculation, the movement of these large amounts of tokens has increased suspicion among traders. They believe that LAB’s market activity may have been influenced by insiders.

In most cases in the crypto market, large token deposits to exchanges such as this are often viewed as a possible signal of planned selling pressure. This is especially true when they occur before major price movements.

Market Manipulation Reports Continue Across Crypto Space

While investigating further, the blockchain tracker noticed that the same wallet was also actively acquiring LAB tokens on-chain while sending assets to platforms such as Bitget and Gate.  

The wallet was also linked to trading activity involving another token that reportedly jumped more than 1000% within 30 days. The connection between the wallets and multiple rapidly rising tokens has added to concerns about coordinated trading behavior in smaller crypto projects.

Since the widespread manipulation report, the LAB team has not publicly responded to the allegations. Meanwhile, cases like this highlight the ongoing transparency issues in the crypto space.

In the past, there have been several market manipulation and insider trading reports, especially with low-cap tokens. In early September last year, MYX, the native asset of decentralized derivatives platform MYX Finance, surged more than 255%. The sharp rise came as claims of market manipulation surrounded the project at the time.