Russian-based cryptocurrency exchange YoBit have continued to promote upcoming pump-and-dumps on their site, claiming it will eventually be a catalyst for the next bull market.

On Thursday the exchange shocked many in the cryptocurrency community by orchestrating a pump-and-dump of Putin Coin, which rose by over 1400% at 2pm before crashing back down, leaving many investors out of pocket.

Pump-and-dumps have been around in the stock-market for decades, with a notable example being Jordan Belfort’s brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont in the 1990s, who illicitly ‘pumped’ an owned penny stock with false and misleading statements, before dumping the stock on unsuspecting investors.

The pump-and-dump schemes sadly found their way into cryptocurrency when a Discord group  found itself in trouble after it emerged that the Securities and Exchange Commission and the FBI had been asked to investigate over planned ‘pump-and-dumps’.

One thing that hadn’t been seen in the cryptocurrency space was an actual exchange advertising a pump-and-dump through their own website and social media. That was until YoBit jumped on the fraudulent bandwagon this week with shameless promotion of their scheme.

YoBit initially advertised their pump on Twitter, posting: “We will buy one random coin for 1 btc every 1-2 mins 10 times (total buy amount – 10btc).” The post was predominately met with scepticism with many questioning whether the social media page was hacked.

Bizarrely enough the pump came into fruition, what’s more is that they continued to advertise more pumps in the days to follow, writing: “The pump turned out to be a massive face melting pump, it will lead the massive alt bullrun that everyone has been waiting for. Putin did +1300% today. Follow YoBitAdmins and send messages for details on how to earn in the next pump.”

From a regulatory standpoint it seems like a strange move from YoBit, who now face the wrath of the SEC, a regulator who have openly tried to rid the crypto world of pump-and-dumps in the past.

While YoBit’s motive remains unclear it would be a safe bet for investors to avoid the exchange for the time being, as participating in pump-and-dumps puts your capital at risk.

Click here to see a comprehensive guide of the top 10 trusted cryptocurrency exchanges.