South Korean National Assembly is preparing for the definitive investigation on sulfur-based altcoin AVAIL because of manipulated price. Democratic Party of Korea’s lawmaker Min Byeong-deok plans to inform the PAC on Thursday and said it is the ‘second Burger Coin.’ In particular, the probe will be carried out in relation to the Bithumb exchange, as the AVAIL token demonstrates increased trading activity in early July.
Min Byeong-deok first used the term’ Burger Coin’ for the SUI token last year, although the issue involved a foreign-issued coin traded in the local market. Now the term is used to refer to AVAIL where such foreign coins exhibit similar trading patterns. As per the lawmaker, the audit to be conducted on Thursday will look into price issues concerning AVAIL, its listing as well as intended manipulation allegations of Bithumb which is one of the exchanges that list the token.
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“Listing Beam” and Burger Coin Concerns
The investigation will aim at establishing what has been described as the “listing beam” phenomenon, where the value of a coin increases soon after a platform lists it, but it soon collapses. While “Burger coins,” such as AVAIL or SUI, have a higher cap than “kimchi coins,” they are domestic altcoins. AVAIL has not only raised concern about trading patterns in the domestic market because it is a token from a foreign company.
According to the Virtual Asset Protection Act, South Korean regulators began the probe after the AVAIL skyrocketed in price on July 23 and 24. Over this time, the altcoin’s valuation experienced a 1383% increase within 15 minutes at Bithumb exchange. The token surged from $0.17 to $2.56, raising suspicions about potential manipulation. Reports suggest that an unnamed investor may have been involved in suspicious trading activities, prompting regulators to take action.
This investigation aims to clarify AVAIL’s rapid price changes and ensure that such incidents do not undermine the stability of the cryptocurrency market in South Korea.
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