Latest snapshot (updated 28 September 2026)
| Metric | Figure | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wallets in the largest documented ring | 25,916 ("about 26,000") | 24 Aug – 22 Sep 2026 | Bitquery [1] |
| Trading recorded by those wallets | $322.5M across 8 memecoins | 24 Aug – 22 Sep 2026 | Bitquery [1] |
| Share of the eight tokens' trading that was fake | 99.8% (87.7% from the ring alone) | 24 Aug – 22 Sep 2026 | Bitquery [1] |
| Near-zero-cost round trips, chain-wide | $947M (two-thirds in three zero-fee pools created by one address) | 11 Sep 2026 | Bitquery [1] |
| Stock Token round trips | $346M (led by NVDA, GOOGL, SPY). Bitquery found nothing tying the tokens' issuers to these trades | 24 Aug – 22 Sep 2026 | Bitquery [1] |
| Fake share of chain DEX volume (excluding one outlier) | 2.9% in the pools Bitquery indexes, the second-lowest of six chains it measured | 24 Aug – 22 Sep 2026 | Bitquery [1] |
Bitquery says its indexed venues carry about 92% of the volume DefiLlama reports for the chain. It set aside one outlier from all totals, the $34.3B recorded in six minutes on one token (COBIE) in a pool holding 0.001 ETH [1].
How the relay ring worked
Bitquery describes a "hand-off" pattern that looks like organic buying and selling from thousands of separate traders [1].
- A wallet buys once. Nearly nine in ten ring wallets made a single trade.
- Another wallet sells the same amount. For 98.5% of one-trade buyers, a one-trade seller of the exact same amount followed a median 41 seconds later.
- The funds move on. Each buyer passes what it bought to a new wallet, which sells it. Because no single wallet trades both ways, simple wash-trading filters miss it.
- The wallets fund each other. 48 of the 50 ring wallets Bitquery checked got their first ETH from another ring wallet.
Ring volume by token [1]
| Token | Ring volume |
|---|---|
| HOOD (a memecoin, see note) | $74.0M |
| DOGO | $66.5M |
| GOOSE | $58.2M |
| BLORB | $52.0M |
| AnsemCat (contract 67c5) | $29.4M |
| MOW (contract 7676) | $28.5M |
| MOW (contract 0b7c) | $10.3M |
| AnsemCat (contract 9727) | $3.6M |
Why it matters to traders
- Volume is the first thing most traders check, and trending lists rank by it. Fake volume pulls real buyers into tokens with no real demand.
- Fake volume hides thin liquidity. When real buyers try to sell, there's far less depth than the volume suggested.
- Ring wallets pollute leaderboards. Thousands of "active" wallets can look like traders. See how to track wallets without getting baited.
Learn the practical tests in how to spot wash trading.
Snapshot log
| Date | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Sep 2026 | Tracker created from Bitquery's 23 Sep investigation | Bitquery |
Method and caveats
- All figures above are Bitquery's. They are quoted with the periods Bitquery states. Bitquery notes the investigation was "Written by Bitquery Research with AI tools" and that "every figure was checked against the raw data" [1].
- When Amplified adds its own measurements, they will appear in a separate, labelled section with our method. That method is linked-wallet volume share per token, where wallets are linked by funding source and matched-trade patterns.
- Corrections. If you think a figure here is wrong, tell us through the corrections page.
Cite this tracker
Amplified Research, "Robinhood Chain Wash Trading Tracker", amplified.trading/reports/robinhood-chain-wash-trading, updated 28 September 2026. Underlying figures from Bitquery (23 September 2026).
Sources
- Robinhood Chain wash trading: 26,000 wallets faked $322.5 million of memecoin trades, Bitquery (2026-09-23)