Investment Exec Warns of Pump-and-Dump Crypto Schemes by Nasdaq-Listed Firms
VanEck’s Head of Digital Assets, Matthew Sigel, has warned that some small companies listed on Nasdaq are likely running pump-and-dump schemes by making bold claims about purchasing large amounts of cryptocurrencies like XRP and Solana (SOL).
According to Sigel, many of these companies have very low market capitalisations and no visible support from institutional investors, yet they announce plans to raise hundreds of millions—or even billions—of dollars to invest in digital assets.
Sigel said that in the absence of disclosed anchor investors, such announcements raise red flags. “Insider pump and dump attempts, many of them,” he noted. He added that if a company’s market cap is negligible and lacks transparent backing, it’s reasonable to assume it’s a scam.
One recent example is Trident Digital Tech, based in Singapore, which on June 12 announced plans to raise up to $500 million to create what it claims will be one of the world’s first major corporate XRP treasuries. Despite this ambitious plan, its stock was trading under 40 cents, and the company had a market value of only about $16 million at the time, according to Yahoo Finance.
Earlier this month, another small company, Classover Holdings Inc.—an education tech firm—revealed plans to raise $500 million to build a Solana treasury. Its shares are priced below $4, and its market capitalisation is under $100 million. Similarly, China-based Webus International, which operates in the automotive and hospitality sectors, announced a $300 million XRP treasury initiative. Its stock trades for less than $3, with a comparable market cap.
One of the most striking claims came from DeFi Development Corp., which declared it had struck a deal to raise $5 billion through stock sales to fund a Solana treasury. The reported buyer, RK Capital Management of Denver, says it oversees $500 million in small-cap investments. Following this announcement, DeFi Dev’s stock soared, growing from a $7 million valuation in March to around $379 million by June.
Sigel, who has been vocal about these questionable announcements, recently posted on X about a micro-cap stock managed by a Chinese team that claimed it would buy $800 million worth of Bitcoin and TRUMP coin. He chose not to name the company, stating, “When a $3 million market cap U.S.-listed penny stock with all-Chinese management announces plans to buy $800M of BTC & TRUMP coin, you don’t post the ticker.”
