Exchange Investigates Flash Crash That Sent Bitcoin To $8,900

(Bloomberg) -- Crypto exchange BitMEX is investigating unusual trading activity that led to a flash crash in Bitcoin on its platform yesterday.

The price of Bitcoin against Tether’s USDT stablecoin fell to as low as $8,900 on BitMEX late Monday, while the largest cryptocurrency was trading above $66,000 on rival venues. The price of Bitcoin on the exchange quickly recovered and was trading at $64,284 as of 4:10 p.m Singapore time.

A spokesperson for BitMEX said the company investigated the incident and found evidence of “aggressive selling behavior involving a very small number of accounts that exceeded expected market ranges,” adding that its systems had operated normally and all user funds are safe. 

An X account named @syq, which first posted about the sudden selloff, suggested the flash crash coincided with the sale of 977 Bitcoin worth roughly $66 million. BitMEX’s spokesperson declined to comment further on the details of the incident. 

Bitcoin has fallen around 14% from record highs set earlier this month, after a period of rampant demand driven by a crop of spot ETFs launched in the US on Jan. 11. The token is still up almost 50% in 2024.

Bitcoin shed as much as 6.3% to trade at $63,140 on Tuesday after the $25 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, or GBTC, posted a $643 million outflow, its highest since it converted into an ETF on Jan. 11.

Read more: Bitcoin Retreats as Grayscale ETF Posts Biggest Daily Outflow

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