ZachXBT Launches $10,000 Bounty Over Crypto Market Manipulation Claims

On-chain investigator ZachXBT posted a $10,000 personal bounty Monday for evidence on Hong Kong market maker Heisenberg Guru. The firm, known as HSBG, allegedly manipulated prices across centralized crypto exchanges.

The investigator named Sion and Chao as core HSBG operators and singled out River (RIVER). He urged whistleblowers to share chat logs, contracts, or internal communications that prove coordination across Bitget, Binance, and Gate.

Bounty Targets Asia-Based Exchange Manipulation

ZachXBT funded the reward from personal accounts and framed it as part of a broader effort to expose Asia-based market makers. He recently posted a similar offer connected to alleged RAVE token coordination on Bitget.

The RIVER token has drawn sustained scrutiny after a 500% rally earlier in 2026 raised concerns about supply concentration.

River (RIVER) Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto Markets

Derivatives turnover on the asset has at times outpaced spot volume by margins flagged in earlier trader warnings.

“These active MMs on Bitget, Binance, Gate, etc are a cancer to the industry and must be exposed since Asia CEXs continue to turn a blind eye on them,” ZachXBT added.

Calls for tighter oversight of centralized exchanges have intensified since early 2026. Multiple tokens including LAB and RAVE drew probes after analysts flagged sudden supply concentration paired with derivatives-driven price surges.

The investigator has built a reputation for crowd-funded bounties that surface evidence beyond what on-chain data alone can reveal.

Prior probes, profiled by BeInCrypto, have triggered exchange reviews and asset freezes across multiple jurisdictions.

Neither HSBG nor its named operators responded publicly to the bounty post. Submissions go through direct messages to ZachXBT, with no public form or wallet listed.

Credible evidence emerging may determine how seriously Asia-based exchanges treat the latest round of scrutiny.