2024-03-19 13:38:21
Key points of the News
- Sudden drop in BitMEX: Bitcoin price briefly fell to $8,900 from around $67,000 in a “flash drop” on the BitMEX exchange, while other platforms showed no such drop.
- Speculation on whale activity: It is speculated that the drop was caused by a “whale” that sold more than 400 BTC, causing a temporary suspension of withdrawals from certain accounts on BitMEX.
- Ongoing research: BitMEX is actively investigating the unusual trading activity and has assured that all funds are safe, with the identity of the seller and further details yet to be revealed.
The price of Bitcoin on crypto exchange BitMEX plummeted to $8,900 on Monday night, while the cryptocurrency was trading well above $60,000 on other platforms. This drop, known as a “flash crash,” has caused a investigation by BitMEX about the unusual trading activity.
“Bitcoin down to $8,900 on BitMEX?” Well, not quite the whole picture.
Yes, we are investigating potential misconduct by traders on our Bitcoin-USDT Spot market (👀Did you even know we offer Spot trading?)
However, this incident had NO impact on our billion-dollar derivatives… pic.twitter.com/qWXXnyQxjw
— BitMEX (@BitMEX) March 19, 2024
The Bitcoin price drop, known as a “flash crash,” began at 22:40 UTC. In just two minutes, the price of Bitcoin plummeted to $8,900, a value not seen since early 2020. However, the recovery was equally rapid, with prices rebounding to $63,000 at 22:50 UTC. Despite the dramatic fluctuation in BitMEX, the global average price of Bitcoin remained stable at around $63,300.
Social media users have speculated that the drop was caused by a “whale” that sold more than 400 BTC. This large sell order is believed to have dropped the BTC/USDT spot pair to $8,900. The BTC/USDT pair represents the so-called Tether price of Bitcoin, with Tether being the world’s leading stablecoin pegged to the dollar.
Market Speculation: The Role of a “Whale” in the Bitcoin Price Fall
Crypto analyst Syq has reported that an unidentified large-scale trader, often referred to as a “whale,” sold an estimated total of 400 BTC. This was done in increments of 10 to 50 BTC over a two-hour span. Additionally, Syq revealed that BitMEX temporarily stopped withdrawals from certain accounts.
In response to the incident, BitMEX stated on social media that it is investigating the large sell orders:
“We are investigating unusual activity in recent hours involving a user selling large orders on our BTC-USDT spot market. “This does not affect any of our derivatives markets, nor the index price of our popular BTC derivatives contracts,” BitMEX said.
The trading platform assured users that it is operating normally and all funds are safe. At the moment, the identity of the user who placed the large sales orders is unknown. The investigation is ongoing and more updates from BitMEX are expected in the coming days.
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