Bitcoin Price Drops to $8,900 on BitMEX, Exchange Launches Investigation

cryptonews.com:

BitMEX is conducting an investigation into an unusual trading activity that caused a flash crash and Bitcoin price drop on its platform. 

Late on Monday, the price of Bitcoin against Tether’s USDT stablecoin plummeted to as low as $8,900 on BitMEX, while the largest cryptocurrency was trading well above $66,000 on other exchanges. 

However, the price on BitMEX quickly rebounded, and as of 4:10 p.m. Singapore time, Bitcoin was trading at $64,284, according to a  report from Bloomberg . 

In response to the incident, a spokesperson for BitMEX stated that the company has thoroughly examined the matter and discovered evidence of “aggressive selling behavior involving a very small number of accounts that exceeded expected market ranges.” 

The spokesperson also reassured users that the exchange’s systems had operated normally throughout the event and that all user funds remain secure.

One user, an account named @syq, initially reported the sudden selloff and suggested that it coincided with the sale of 977 Bitcoin, equivalent to approximately $66 million. 

Still ongoing. 850+ BTC, low of $8,900. pic.twitter.com/bAiPDDM9Vj

— syq (@syq) March 18, 2024

However, BitMEX’s spokesperson declined to provide further details regarding the incident.

Bitcoin has experienced a decline of around 14% from its record highs earlier this month, following a period of high demand driven by the launch of several spot ETFs in the United States on January 11. 

Despite the recent drop, the cryptocurrency is still up nearly 50% since the beginning of 2024.

On Tuesday, Bitcoin faced an additional setback as it dropped by as much as 6.3% to trade at $63,140. 

As of now, Bitcoin is trading at $62,674, down by more than 7% over the past day.

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