DeFi Technologies Inc., a Canadian company specializing in decentralized finance (DeFi) exchange-traded products (ETPs), has strongly denied claims of questionable practices aimed at artificially inflating its stock price. This response comes after a report from CoinSnacks, a crypto-focused newsletter, accused the company of engaging in email campaigns and paying influencers to promote its stock, leading to a significant surge in its value over the past year.

Following the publication of the report on June 18, DeFi Technologies’ stock plummeted by nearly 28%, closing at 3.10 CAD. The decline continued the following day, with the stock dropping to 2.24 CAD, representing a 27.7% decline. However, the stock slightly recovered on Wednesday, closing at 2.30 Canadian dollars, according to Yahoo Finance.

In a recent press release, DeFi Technologies denounced the report as “defamatory” and “misleading,” accusing CoinSnacks of being “commissioned by short-sellers” to manipulate the stock price. CoinSnacks has refuted this claim, stating that no short-sellers had paid for the report and that its team did not hold any positions in DeFi Technologies stock.

The CoinSnacks report had alleged that DeFi Technologies used its acquisition of Reflexivity Research, a joint venture involving high-profile crypto figures Anthony Pompliano and Will Clemente, to boost its publicity through promotional emails and endorsements. DeFi Technologies criticized the report as a “short and distort type” of report and claimed it was part of a coordinated effort by short-sellers to depress its stock price.

The company also revealed that a Canadian investment bank had approached it for a potential bought-deal offer of US$15 million, which it found suspicious due to its strong treasury position and the potential for market manipulation by short-sellers. DeFi Technologies stated that it had contacted the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization about the bank’s offer and warned of the potential for market manipulation by short-sellers.

CoinSnacks has defended its report, stating that it stands by its reporting and welcomes further investigation and judgment from others.