The U.S. SEC accuses Hydrogen of market manipulation and unregistered securities issuance related to its token airdrop

Chain Catcher News, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Hydrogen and the market maker Moonwalkers with market manipulation and unregistered securities offerings. Hydrogen distributed its Hydro tokens through a bounty program and airdrops in 2018, while also selling tokens directly to users via its trading platform. During this period, Hydrogen's CEO hired Moonwalkers to conduct wash trading, creating a false appearance of market activity, stabilizing token prices, and increasing user interest.

According to the SEC, the act of wash trading constitutes market manipulation, and despite avoiding an ICO by opting for airdrops and bounty programs, it still amounts to unregistered securities offerings. (Source link)