BitMEX Investigates Aggressive Bitcoin Sell-Off Following Price Drop to $8,900 on Exchange
In Brief
BitMEX experienced a sudden drop in Bitcoin price to $8,900 and is examining “unusual activity” related to sell orders on its BTC-USDT spot market.
Cryptocurrency exchange and derivatives trading platform BitMEX experienced a sudden drop in Bitcoin (BTC) to $8,900 in its USDT spot market. In a post published on the social media platform X, the company disclosed that it is currently examining “unusual activity” related to substantial sell orders on its BTC-USDT spot market.
Cryptocurrency users quickly noted the issue, remarking that someone executed the sale of over 400 BTC within 2 hours, dividing the transactions into 10-50 BTC segments on the XBTUSDT pair on BitMEX, resulting in slippage of over 30%, likely incurring losses of at least $4 million. A pseudonymous community member, “Syq”, further commented, “I’m guessing that they’re done (for now?). Total volume so far is just shy of 1,000 BTC over 3.5 hours with a low of $8,900. Now BitMEX has disabled withdrawals.”
In response, the cryptocurrency exchange clarified that it had not disabled withdrawals for all users but only for a few accounts pertinent to its ongoing investigation.
BitMEX later announced that it was investigating “aggressive selling behavior” and “potential misconduct” by traders in its BTC-USDT spot market, reiterating that the incident had no impact on its derivatives markets despite reports of the sudden price drop. Furthermore, the incident did not affect mark prices, and no liquidations were triggered by it, as BitMEX’s indices are independent and thoroughly tested.
The exchange clarified the cause of the price drop, stating that it maintains fair and impartial markets by abstaining from employing internal market makers. “The large and frequent BTC sell orders today exceeded the capacity for independent market makers and other traders to respond. As per protocol, our compliance team is examining the accounts and transactions behind this price shift.” BitMEX also assured users that deposits and withdrawals are operating normally on the platform.
BitMEX’s Bitcoin Price Drop Coincides with Wider Crypto Market Decline
The unexpected Bitcoin price drop on BitMEX aligned with the broader cryptocurrency market downturn, occurring as Bitcoin saw a notable drop from its recent all-time high of $73,750.07, reached just last week.
The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is trading at $63,161 as of writing time, marking a decline of almost 12% in the last seven days, as per CoinMarketCap data. The downward trend in Bitcoin’s price is associated with significant outflows totalling $643 million from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), with the selling of its shares reaching an all-time high.
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Alisa is a reporter for the Metaverse Post. She focuses on investments, AI, metaverse, and everything related to Web3. Alisa has a degree in Business of Art and expertise in Art & Tech. She has developed her passion for journalism through writing for VCs, notable crypto projects, and scientific writing. You can contact her at alisa@mpost.io
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Alisa is a reporter for the Metaverse Post. She focuses on investments, AI, metaverse, and everything related to Web3. Alisa has a degree in Business of Art and expertise in Art & Tech. She has developed her passion for journalism through writing for VCs, notable crypto projects, and scientific writing. You can contact her at alisa@mpost.io
