Introduction: A Mysterious Crypto Surge That Shook the Market
Over the weekend, the crypto market witnessed a sudden and unexpected explosion — VOXEL, a relatively unknown token, skyrocketed from $0.02 to $0.15 within just 48 hours. At one point, its trading volume even surpassed that of Solana (SOL), leaving the community stunned and scrambling for answers.
But what really caused this parabolic rise? And why did it trigger a historical system failure at Bitget, one of the world’s top crypto exchanges?
What is VOXEL? A Forgotten Gaming Token Suddenly Revived
VOXEL is the native token of Voxie Tactics, a tactical RPG built on the Polygon network. Despite launching with ambition in the GameFi boom, it had since faded into obscurity — until the unexpected pump on April 19–20, 2025.
Price Explosion: $0.02 to $0.15 in Just 2 Days
On April 19th, VOXEL was trading at a quiet $0.02. Within two days, it peaked at $0.15 — marking a 7x gain. This move triggered massive speculation and leverage-based trading, especially on Bitget Futures.
Bitget’s Bot Breakdown: A Market Maker Glitch That Fueled Millions
The situation escalated around 3 PM UTC on April 20, when VOXEL’s price on Bitget began fluctuating up to 10% every 3 seconds — a red flag for experienced traders.
Exploiting the Glitch with High Leverage Trades
Users on X (formerly Twitter) began posting clips and screenshots of their trades, showing massive profits made from taking advantage of the malfunctioning market-making bots. Traders reportedly turned $100 into $100,000 in mere minutes using isolated leverage.
This exposed a rare vulnerability in Bitget’s infrastructure: a broken bot logic that allowed for near-guaranteed profits if timed right.
Bitget’s Crisis Response: A $100M Mistake?
Bitget was forced to take unprecedented action. In a public announcement, the exchange:
- Canceled all VOXEL-related trades during the 30-minute spike
- Suspended accounts suspected of market manipulation
- Offered compensation to users affected by the cancellation
Estimated $100M in Losses
Crypto analysts estimated that Bitget may have suffered up to $100 million in internal losses from the exploit, largely due to the unexpected payouts to traders exploiting the glitch.
To reassure users, Bitget emphasized that its $300M Protection Fund would fully cover all liabilities — no customer funds would be lost permanently.
The Hypocrisy of Crisis Management: Bitget vs Hyperliquid
Just one month earlier, in March 2025, Bitget’s CEO Gracy Chen publicly criticized DEX platform Hyperliquid for refunding trades during a similar market manipulation event involving the token JELLY.
She stated at the time:
“It sets a dangerous precedent. Platforms must stand by their systems, even during extreme volatility.”
Now, with VOXEL, Bitget was forced to do exactly what they once condemned — roll back trades and issue compensation.
This has sparked heated debate in the crypto community about the double standards of centralized exchanges and their policies when their own systems fail.
VOXEL Goes Viral: Massive Volume on Binance Futures
While Bitget was the epicenter of the chaos, Binance Futures also saw unusual VOXEL activity. On April 20:
- VOXEL trading volume topped $3 billion, making it third only to BTC and ETH.
- This was unprecedented for a token that had all but vanished from traders’ radars.
- Discussions exploded across forums, X, and Telegram groups, with the phrase “VOXEL exploit” trending for hours.
Other “Delisting” Tokens Also Surge Amid Speculation
Interestingly, VOXEL wasn’t the only token making waves. Tokens that had been placed on Bitget’s “Vote to Delist” program — a feature where users vote to keep or remove low-volume coins — also began to rally.
NKN, Others Pump Nearly 100%
Tokens like:
- NKN
- AMB
- KEY
…saw 70-100% gains as traders speculated on similar glitches or sought high volatility plays.
This raises questions about the integrity of delisting processes and the potential for insider speculation or coordinated manipulation.
Community Reactions: “From Exploit to Jackpot”
Screenshots posted online showed traders claiming:
- Millions in unrealized profits
- Massive gains on long/short traps
- Some even suggested that this was a planned arbitrage attack coordinated by whales.
Conclusion: What’s Next for VOXEL, Bitget, and Market Trust?
This incident reveals deep vulnerabilities in crypto infrastructure, especially in automated market-making systems. VOXEL, once a forgotten GameFi relic, has now become the poster child for exploit-driven volatility.
For Bitget, the irony of being caught in their own trap has not gone unnoticed — and trust in centralized exchanges is once again under scrutiny.
Whether VOXEL retains its gains or fades back into obscurity, this event will go down as one of 2025’s most shocking flashpumps — and a stark reminder of how fragile the crypto ecosystem still is.
