Hamster Kombat denies its relationship with Gotbit

Hamster Kombat, the Telegram-based game, has taken to X to clarify its relationship with Gotbit. The clarity step comes amid reports that Hamster Kombat’s CEO was arrested.

Within the last 24 hours, there have been reports that the CEO of HMSTR Kombat was arrested and is waiting to face criminal charges in the United States. The spring of the arrest is tied to Gotbit Consulting. The United States Department of Justice has yet to clarify the arrest details, if any.

Hamster Kombat’s team has made a statement on the X platform saying, “Dear CEOs, we are committed to ensuring transparency within the Hamster Ecosystem. In light of recent news regarding Gotbit, we want to clarify that Hamster Kombat has never worked with Gotbit as a market maker.”

A user on X notes, “Sorry, Hamster Kombat fam, but it’s over. The disappointments this project has brought have ensured that all these new users now have a bad image of crypto.”

Hamster Kombat and Gotbit ties

Why the fuss? Why is there a need for clarity on collaboration? On October 9, U.S. federal prosecutors filed market manipulation and fraud charges against four crypto “market makers” and their employees. The SEC and FBI were also involved in the investigation. Among those named are Gotbit Consulting, ZM Quant Investment, and CLS Global. 

Gotbit is the market maker behind the so-called “meme DWF,” Bonk, and Neiro. According to the DOJ, Gotbit helped these manipulated tokens to sell at artificially inflated prices to unsuspecting buyers. The four companies also promoted these tokens and persuaded exchanges to lower fees, increasing profits.

Now, Gotbit’s CEO, Aleksei Andriunin, has been arrested in Portugal. The market maker collaborated with well-known brands such as Bonk, Neiro, Hamster Kombat, and Robo Inu. 

Hamster Kombat’s denial of working with Gotbit does not sit right with the crypto community. On April 8th, 2024, Gotbit officially announced that it had begun working with HMSTR. 

The announcement reads, “We are thrilled to announce a partnership with @hamster_kombat […] Gotbit Hedge Fund congratulates the project on reaching its first million players and is happy to be the team’s official advisor on their web3 journey.”

The crypto community has been quick to fact-check the HMSTR team. A user on X by the ticker Crypto Degen notes, “Too vague, and it’s as if you had never worked with Gotbit. Otherwise, tell us about this partnership announcement by Gotbit on April 8th, to which you had not reacted negatively.”

Well, the news doesn’t come as a surprise to some. A year ago, on-chain detective ZachXBT exposed Gotbit’s market-making tactics and warned users to be cautious of any projects collaborating with Gotbit. 

However, those reports did not sway users away. According to Gotbit’s official X platform, Gotbit has provided market-making services for around 50 projects this year, most of which are memes.

At its peak, the company managed assets totaling $1.5 billion and made nearly $200 million in investments through Gotbit Ventures. Now, Gotbit manages $1.3 billion in assets and has over 400 institutional clients.

According to the DOJ, Gotbit now faces a maximum fine of $5 million, or twice the amount of illegal gains or losses and asset forfeiture. In addition, the CEO, who is also facing charges, could face up to 20 years in prison.