加密貨幣做市商：透明度與操縱

在加密貨幣世界中，做市商在確保流動性和提供穩定的交易環境方面發揮著至關重要的作用。然而，不道德的做市商採取操縱行為，例如清洗交易和拉高拋售計劃，以提高代幣價格並製造交易量假象。因此，加密貨幣專案經常聘請做市商來提高其績效指標並滿足交易所上市要求。然而，歐盟等司法管轄區的監管發展旨在透過嚴格處罰和要求透明度來遏制洗錢交易和其他非法行為。

Few ordinary crypto holders understand the role of market makers.

At the simplest level, market makers provide liquidity to keep assets tradable in the cryptocurrency market, ensuring that if a user tries to buy or sell a coin on a particular exchange, they’re usually able to.

很少有普通加密貨幣持有者了解做市商的作用。所買賣代幣，他們通常會被交易。

However, unethical market makers also manipulate token prices, inflate volumes and conduct pump and dumps.

然而，不道德的做市商也操縱代幣價格、誇大交易量並進行拉高和拋售。

Many cryptocurrency projects hire them to goose their performance metrics using strategies like wash trading, which is where entities repeatedly trade the same asset back and forth to create the illusion of volume. In traditional markets, this is illegal market manipulation, misleading investors about the demand for a particular asset.

Mathias Beke，Kairon Labs 許多加密貨幣項目聘請他們使用洗售交易等策略來提高績效指標，洗售交易是指實體反覆來回交易同一資產以創造交易量的假象。在傳統市場中，這是非法的市場操縱，誤導投資者對特定資產的需求。

“A lot of [token] projects are fooling their own trader community or investors by faking these wash trades or these volumes,” says Mathias Beke, co-founder and head of trading at Belgium-based market maker Kairon Labs.

總部位於比利時的做市商 Kairon Labs 的聯合創始人兼交易主管 Mathias Beke 表示：“許多[代幣]項目通過偽造這些虛假交易或交易量來愚弄自己的交易者社區或投資者。”

He adds that these cowboys give legitimate market makers a bad name but says global regulatory developments are progressively making it more difficult for such businesses to thrive.

他補充說，這些牛仔給合法做市商帶來了壞名聲，但他表示，全球監管的發展逐漸使這類企業更難蓬勃發展。

Hard data on the extent of wash trading is difficult to come by. Bitwise famously reported in 2019 that 95% of the volume on unregulated exchanges was fake. A more recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in December 2022 found that the figure had eased to around 70%.

清洗交易程度的硬數據很難取得。 Bitwise 在 2019 年發表了一篇著名的報告，表示不受監管的交易所 95% 的交易量都是假的。美國國家經濟研究局 (NBER) 2022 年 12 月的一項最新研究發現，這一數字已降至 70% 左右。

Yang Yang, a co-author of the NBER study, tells Magazine that properly regulated exchanges accounted for less than 3% of spot market transactions, according to the research.

NBER 研究報告的合著者 Yang Yang 告訴雜誌，根據該研究，受到適當監管的交易所佔現貨市場交易的比例不到 3%。

Regulated exchanges, as defined under New York’s crypto BitLicense, comply with stringent requirements around Anti-Money Laundering programs and customer information record-keeping, and they have a disaster recovery system.

根據紐約加密貨幣 BitLicense 的定義，受監管的交易所遵守反洗錢計畫和客戶資訊記錄保存的嚴格要求，並且擁有災難復原系統。

Since BitLicense debuted in New York, other financial hubs around the world — such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai — have enforced strict licensing requirements of their own.

自從 BitLicense 在紐約推出以來，新加坡、香港和杜拜等世界各地的其他金融中心都執行了自​​己嚴格的許可要求。

“In an unregulated exchange, you can immediately spot that their economic indicators are so far away from the regulated market,” Yang says.

And that’s where the illicit market makers ply their dark trade.

楊說：「在不受監管的交易所，你可以立即發現他們的經濟指標與受監管的市場相差甚遠。」而這正是非法做市商進行黑暗交易的地方。

Market makers and liquidity provision

It’s important to differentiate between the two main types of market makers. Exchange market makers focus on creating a stable, liquid trading environment for a particular cryptocurrency exchange. 

做市商和流動性供應 區分兩種主要類型的做市商非常重要。交易所做市商專注於為特定的加密貨幣交易所創造穩定、流動性的交易環境。

Token market makers, by contrast, are often engaged by the issuers of the tokens themselves. Their primary objective is to ensure liquidity for a specific token, particularly in its early stages or during periods of low trading volume.

相比之下，代幣做市商通常由代幣發行者本身參與。他們的主要目標是確保特定代幣的流動性，特別是在其早期階段或交易量較低的時期。

This type of market-making can help newer tokens gain traction and visibility in a crowded market.

這種類型的做市可以幫助新代幣在擁擠的市場中獲得吸引力和知名度。

But what some token projects hope to get from market makers and what the legitimate firms provide are often at odds.

Jelle Buth，Enflux 但一些代幣項目希望從做市商那裡得到的東西和合法公司提供的東西往往是不一致的。

“Generally, what [token projects] look for is they think that a market maker is there to create volume, increase price and do pump and dumps,” Jelle Buth, co-founder of market maker Enflux, tells Magazine. 

做市商 Enflux 的聯合創始人 Jelle Buth 告訴雜誌：“一般來說，[代幣項目]尋找的是他們認為做市商是為了創造交易量、提高價格並進行拉高和拋售。”

“But that is completely incorrect.”

“但這是完全錯誤的。”

He explains that a market maker’s role is to make assets tradable by providing liquidity and maintaining a healthy order book, which contains all the buy and sell orders for an asset. 

他解釋說，做市商的作用是透過提供流動性和維護健康的訂單簿（其中包含資產的所有買賣訂單）來使資產可交易。

By placing orders on both sides of the book, they ensure that there’s always a match available for incoming orders, which enhances the asset’s liquidity.

透過在帳簿的兩側下訂單，他們確保傳入的訂單始終有可用的匹配，從而增強了資產的流動性。

Market makers offer to buy (bid) and sell (ask) a crypto asset at different prices. The difference between these two prices is known as the spread.

做市商提出以不同的價格購買（出價）和出售（詢問）加密資產。這兩個價格之間的差異稱為點差。

A narrower spread generally indicates a more liquid market, whereas a wider spread suggests less liquidity and higher trading costs.

價差較小通常表示市場流動性較高，而價差較大則表示流動性較低且交易成本較高。

“It’s a market maker’s role to make this as tight as possible, while of course keeping in mind it not being a largely loss-making activity.”

“做市商的職責是盡可能嚴格控制，同時當然要記住這不是一項主要虧損的活動。”

A narrow bid-ask spread is often accompanied by solid market depth, which refers to the available quantity of buy and sell orders at different price levels within an order book at a given moment.

狹窄的買賣差價通常伴隨著堅實的市場深度，市場深度是指在給定時刻訂單簿中不同價格水平的買入和賣出訂單的可用數量。

Market depth can also gauge an asset’s ability to absorb large orders without significant price shifts.

市場深度還可以衡量資產在不發生重大價格變動的情況下吸收大訂單的能力。

A market maker is expected to maintain liquidity without compromising profits. 

做市商應在不影響利潤的情況下維持流動性。

According to Buth, there are two primary business models for token projects: the service model, where market makers receive set payments for creating a liquid trading environment, and the loan option model.

幣安上加密貨幣交易對的傳播與深度。 （CoinGecko）據 Buth 稱，代幣項目有兩種主要商業模式：服務模式（做市商透過創建流動性交易環境獲得固定付款）和貸款選擇權模式。

In a loan option model, a market maker borrows a certain amount of tokens from a crypto project with an agreement the tokens are initially priced at a set rate. These tokens are used to provide liquidity but often come with a primary goal of turning a profit, Buth says.

在貸款選擇權模型中，做市商從加密項目借入一定數量的代幣，並達成協議，代幣最初按設定利率定價。布斯說，這些代幣用於提供流動性，但通常以盈利為主要目標。

Market manipulation and loan option incentives

For instance, consider a market maker that borrows 100,000 tokens from a cryptocurrency project at $1 per token. 

市場操縱與貸款選擇權激勵 例如，假設一家做市商以每個代幣 1 美元的價格從加密貨幣項目借入 100,000 個代幣。

This isn’t just a straightforward loan. It comes with a built-in option for the market maker to settle the loan at the end of an agreed period by returning an equivalent number of tokens at the same price of $1 each, regardless of the current market price. 

這不僅僅是一筆簡單的貸款。它為做市商提供了一個內建選項，可以在約定期限結束時以每個 1 美元的相同價格返還同等數量的代幣來結算貸款，而不管當前的市場價格如何。

During the loan period, the market maker sells these tokens in the open market to provide liquidity, potentially profiting if the token price rises.

在貸款期間，做市商在公開市場上出售這些代幣以提供流動性，如果代幣價格上漲，則可能獲利。

Ideally, the market maker would have retained the proceeds from selling the tokens at higher market prices during the loan period.

理想情況下，做市商將保留在貸款期間以較高市場價格出售代幣的收益。

At the end of the loan period, they can use some of these proceeds to buy back the tokens at the current market price if needed, or they might already have the tokens available to return. They can then settle the loan at $1 per token, which can be profitable if the repurchase price is less than the sale price during the loan period.

在貸款期間結束時，如果需要，他們可以使用其中的部分收益以當前市場價格回購代幣，或者他們可能已經擁有可歸的代幣。然後，他們可以以每個代幣 1 美元的價格結算貸款，如果在貸款期間回購價格低於銷售價格，則可以獲利。

This allows them to cover their obligation while potentially making a profit. It also allows the market maker to manage their risk by knowing in advance the maximum price they will need to pay to return the borrowed tokens, while the token issuer benefits from the liquidity and market presence during the loan period.

這使他們能夠在履行義務的同時獲得潛在利潤。它還允許做市商透過提前了解歸還借來的代幣所需支付的最高價格來管理風險，而代幣發行者則可以從貸款期間的流動性和市場存在中受益。

The downside of the loan option for projects is the lack of control over their own tokens. Buth says:

專案貸款選擇的缺點是缺乏對自己代幣的控制。布斯 說：

“I’m not saying they always do, but there is an incentive for them to trade unethically [and] manipulate markets in order to reap the most profits, rather than there being an incentive to create a healthy market or trading environment.”

“我並不是說他們總是這樣做，但他們有動機進行不道德的交易和操縱市場以獲得最大的利潤，而不是有動機創造一個健康的市場或交易環境。”

According to Buth, market makers under the token loan model may even artificially suppress the price of a token before the agreement expires, aiming to renew the partnership at a lower price.

Buth表示，代幣借貸模式下的做市商甚至可能在協議到期前人為壓低代幣的價格，旨在以更低的價格續簽合作關係。

“The moment the agreement is renewed, they allow the price to go up significantly,” Buth adds.

「協議續簽後，他們就允許價格大幅上漲，」布斯補充道。

The “unethical” market makers

The operator of one of the less salubrious market-making firms, who wishes to remain anonymous — let’s call them MM — says that exchanges have incentivized the use of unethical market makers.

「不道德」的做市商 一家不太健康的做市公司的運營商希望保持匿名（我們稱他們為 MM），他表示，交易所鼓勵了不道德的做市商的使用。

“Exchanges have unspoken requirements where the project must exceed a certain amount of daily trading volume, and this creates an incentive for projects to inflate their trading volumes,” according to MM.

「交易所有不言而喻的要求，即項目必須超過一定的每日交易量，這會激勵項目誇大其交易量，」MM 表示。

MM says token projects approach their services to list on exchanges, whether that be on decentralized or centralized platforms.

MM 表示，代幣計畫透過其服務在交易所上市，無論是在去中心化平台還是中心化平台上。

The source declines to elaborate on how a listing is achieved but says their market maker does things “competitors don’t.”

該消息人士拒絕詳細說明如何實現上市，但表示他們的做市商做了「競爭對手不會做的事情」。

According to screenshots of documents seen by Magazine, some of the services MM offers, or offered, include unethical and potentially illegal tactics to boost price and volume, such as front-running news events and wash trading.

根據雜誌看到的文件截圖，MM 提供或提供的一些服務包括不道德和潛在非法的策略來提高價格和交易量，例如搶先新聞事件和虛假交易。

This is “clearly unethical,” Beke of Kairon Labs says of the tactics, and he refuses to call businesses that provide such services “market makers.”

Kairon Labs 的 Beke 在談到這種策略時表示，這“顯然是不道德的”，他拒絕將提供此類服務的企業稱為“做市商”。

“This, in the long run, will only hurt investors and traders because they are caught up in these volatile moves,” says Beke, adding that potential clients are often disappointed when his firm doesn’t offer volume and price-pumping services.

貝克表示：「從長遠來看，這只會傷害投資者和交易員，因為他們陷入了這些波動性的波動之中。」他補充說，當他的公司不提供成交量和價格上漲服務時，潛在客戶往往會感到失望。

Exchanges crack down on shadowy crypto market makers

Asal Alizade, head of operations at Web3 consulting firm Blocklogica, confirms MM’s contention that trading volume is one of the most important factors for projects to get listed on centralized exchanges. However, exchanges are also on the lookout for manipulation.

交易所打擊影子加密貨幣做市商 Web3 顧問公司 Blocklogica 營運主管 Asal Alizade 證實了 MM 的觀點，即交易量是專案在中心化交易所上市的最重要因素之一。然而，交易所也在警惕操縱行為。

“In top-tier exchanges, if the project doesn’t maintain the requirements and can’t fulfill the minimum trading volume for a specific period, or doesn’t meet the terms and conditions of that exchange and shows unethical practices such as pumping and dumping the token, or manipulating the price, the token will be delisted,” Alizade tells Magazine.

「在頂級交易所，如果項目不符合要求，無法滿足特定時期的最低交易量，或不符合該交易所的條款和條件，並表現出拉高和拉高等不道德行為，拋售代幣或操縱價格，該代幣將被摘牌。

“Top-tier exchanges will not only check the legal documents of the token, including licenses and legal opinion but also check the organic community of the project and evaluate the strength of this community, including the project’s social channels,” she adds.

布斯表示，交易所上市要求也有助於健康的市場。 （Unsplash）「頂級交易所不僅會檢查代幣的法律文件，包括許可證和法律意見書，還會檢查項目的有機社區並評估這個社區的實力，包括項目的社交渠道，」她補充道。

The exchanges Magazine speaks with outline proactive steps they take to weed out bad actors. 

《交易所》雜誌概述了他們為清除不良行為者所採取的積極措施。

“The crypto ecosystem is highly competitive, and it’s not uncommon for participants to fabricate data to stay ahead of the curve,” Ryan Lee, chief analyst of Bitget Research, tells Magazine.

Bitget Research 首席分析師 Ryan Lee 告訴雜誌：“加密生態系統競爭非常激烈，參與者偽造數據以保持領先地位的情況並不罕見。”

“On Bitget, the trading volumes are real, including transactions from retail traders, institutional clients and market makers. One of our predominant strategies to prevent wash trading is an updated platform algorithm that strikes out any form of price indifference,” Lee says.

「在 Bitget 上，交易量是真實的，包括來自零售交易者、機構客戶和做市商的交易。我們防止清洗交易的主要策略之一是更新平台演算法，消除任何形式的價格冷漠。

Vivien Lin, chief product officer of crypto exchange BingX, tells Magazine that crypto platforms are deploying better monitoring systems to identify and mitigate suspicious trading as a result of more regulated entities joining the market. 

加密貨幣交易所 BingX 首席產品長 Vivien Lin 告訴雜誌，由於更多受監管實體加入市場，加密貨幣平台正在部署更好的監控系統，以識別和減少可疑交易。

“At BingX, we’ve heightened rule enforcement and introduced strict penalties for breaches, in addition to enhancing clearing and settlement processes to combat wash trades,” Lin says.

「在 BingX，除了加強清算和結算流程以打擊洗錢交易之外，我們還加強了規則執行力度，對違規行為實行了嚴格的處罰，」林說。

Bitget declined to comment when asked if exchanges have listing fees or penalties for projects that fail to maintain a certain level of trading volume. BingX says it does not charge listing fees or impose volume requirements.

當被問及交易所是否會對未能維持一定交易量的項目收取上幣費或處罰時，Bitget 拒絕發表評論。 BingX 表示，它不收取上市費用，也不施加數量要求。

For ordinary users, it’s difficult to determine the extent of wash trading at any given time. CoinGecko CEO Bobby Ong tells Magazine that the aggregator does not have its own internal mechanism to filter out wash-traded volume. CoinMarketCap did not respond.

對於普通用戶來說，很難確定任何特定時間的刷量交易程度。 CoinGecko 執行長 Bobby Ong 告訴雜誌，聚合器沒有自己的內部機制來過濾洗量交易量。 CoinMarketCap 沒有回應。

Regulations may curb wash trading and other dark practices

The European Union has introduced its Markets in Crypto-Assets regulatory framework, which was published on June 9, 2023, in the Official Journal of the European Union and took effect 20 days later. Full compliance is required by Dec. 30, 2024.

法規可能遏制虛假交易和其他黑暗行為歐盟推出了加密資產市場監管框架，該框架於 2023 年 6 月 9 日在歐盟官方公報上發布，並於 20 天後生效。要求在 2024 年 12 月 30 日之前完全合規。

MiCA prohibits behaviors considered market manipulation, including conducting transactions that give false or misleading signals about a crypto asset’s supply, demand or price. Wash trading falls under this definition.

MiCA 禁止被視為市場操縱的行為，包括進行對加密資產的供應、需求或價格發出虛假或誤導性訊號的交易。清洗交易屬於這個定義。

“No one can advertise this due to regulations like MiCA,” MM says. “Most market makers are regulated now, so you will start seeing less and less of [unethical services], but there are bad actors out there that will always be willing to do anything a client asks for.”

「由於 MiCA 等法規，沒有人可以為此做廣告，」MM 說。 「大多數做市商現在都受到監管，所以你會開始看到越來越少的[不道德服務]，但那裡有一些不良行為者，他們總是願意做客戶要求的任何事情。”

Buth of Enflux believes that dodgy market makers will simply move offshore.

Enflux 的布斯認為，狡猾的做市商只會轉移到海外。

“I think that regulation is for sure good, [and] it should move there, but I still think there are always ways as long as there’s demand for unethical practices,” Buth says.

「我認為監管肯定是好的，[並且]應該向那裡轉移，但我仍然認為只要有不道德行為的需求，總有辦法，」布斯說。

Yohan Yun

Yohan Yun is a multimedia journalist covering blockchain since 2017. He has contributed to crypto media outlet Forkast as an editor and has covered Asian tech stories as an assistant reporter for Bloomberg BNA and Forbes. He spends his free time cooking, and experimenting with new recipes.

Yohan Yun 自 2017 年以來一直是一位報道區塊鏈的多媒體記者。他利用空閒時間做飯並嘗試新食譜。另請閱讀