Market makers: inventory, fees and conflicts

A market maker can provide bids and offers, manage inventory and earn a spread or a contractual fee. A token issuer may lend inventory, grant options or impose performance terms. These arrangements can affect the incentives behind trading activity.

Ask what was contracted

Useful disclosures include inventory ownership, loan terms, option rights, termination rules and any obligations tied to volume or price. A token's public holders may not have access to the agreement, so a review should identify that gap instead of inventing its contents.

Ordinary market making is not synonymous with wash trading. The relevant distinction is whether trades serve real counterparties and transfer economic exposure, or are designed to manufacture a false impression. Operation Token Mirrors provides a documented example of alleged manipulation services without making every market maker guilty by association.

Changes in a provider's inventory or agreement can affect liquidity abruptly. Readers should therefore look at the available depth and the contractual relationship separately. A large reported trading volume does not tell them who owns the assets making that volume possible.

Fuentes

1. MASTR: Crypto Survival Guide, four original panels
2. MASTR Research: From Decentralisation to Attention Capture, July 2026

Investigación revisada el 5 de septiembre de 2026. Historical cases retain the date and legal status of the cited record.