- Bitcoin experienced a sharp price plunge on crypto exchange BitMEX.
- The platform recorded an intense sell-off pressure leading to the crash.
- Bitcoin is still trading below its all-time high as it experiences a price retrace.
Bitcoin has experienced recent remarkable growth, climbing steadily from its year-start trading price of $42,000 to a new all-time high. The weeks-long rally has resulted in a surge in market activity, marked by intense liquidations and trades by small and large-scale investors.
However, the recent uptick in activity has had a detrimental effect on the asset, exerting a downward pressure on its price. Most recently, the pressure took a severe toll on the asset’s trading price on crypto exchange BitMEX, sending it years back on a price memory lane.
Bitcoin’s $8,900 Flash Crash
On Monday, March 18, the crypto market was stunned by a surprising and dramatic Bitcoin crash on BitMEX, plunging the asset’s price to $8900.
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The dip, approximately 87% from Bitcoin’s global trading price of $67,400 at the time, was triggered by intense whale activity on the crypto exchange, which saw the unexpected sell-off of a large asset volume within a brief period.
The sale commenced at 22:40 UTC with the divest of 400 BTC, extending over 10 minutes to 850 BTC, worth approximately $57 million.
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While the price quickly rebounded, the incident raised concerns over BitMEX’s reliability and stability. Users criticized the exchange for its level of vulnerability, expressing concerns about its ability to handle large sell-offs without causing such extreme price fluctuations.
BitMEX also reportedly halted withdrawals shortly after, further stirring a ruckus among its users and the community. The exchange took to social media platform X to address the community.
BitMEX Responds to Bitcoin Crash
In a tweet on Tuesday, March 19, BitMEX asserted that an investigation into the activity was ongoing, seeking to unfold “potential misconduct” by traders on its Bitcoin-USDT spot market.
The exchange clarified that the crash did not affect any derivative markets or the index price for its popular XBT derivatives contracts.
“This incident had NO impact on our billion-dollar derivatives markets. It did not move mark prices, and no liquidations were triggered by it because our indices are independent and battle-tested,” the statement read.
BitMEX emphasized that the trading platform and other features operate normally, asserting all users’ funds are safe.
On the Flipside
- Despite the overall price increase in recent months, Bitcoin has experienced over $1.2 billion in liquidations.
- Bitcoin’s new all-time high of $73,783 surpassed its 2021 point of $69,000 by 5.797%.
- Bitcoin is trading at $63k at press time, down approximately 7.3% in the last 24 hours.
Why This Matters
The bitcoin price plunge on BitMEX underscores the crypto market’s susceptibility to concentrated trading activity by large investors, highlighting the need for robust liquidity measures across exchanges to prevent the disruption of the ongoing bullish momentum.
Read more on the Binance BONE crash and the exchange’s actions to prevent insider trading:
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