Over US$57 million worth of Bitcoin long positions have been liquidated in the 24 hours leading up to 2:40 p.m. in Hong Kong after a post on X (formerly Twitter) falsely claimed that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved BlackRock’s spot exchange-traded fund (ETF).
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Fast Facts
- While the false post was deleted in less than 30 minutes, it was mistakenly reported as fact by crypto news outlet Cointelegraph, sparking a flurry of trading.
- The US$57.15 million worth of total long position liquidations included US$13.6 million in the first hour alone, according to crypto futures market data provider Coinglass.
- The fake post initially boosted Bitcoin’s price to a two-month high of US$29,388, with US$52.63 million worth of short positions liquidated in the hour leading up to 9:00 p.m. in Hong Kong Monday.
- That brings the amount of total liquidations to US$154.4 million in the past 24 hours, with US$97.07 million of those in short positions.
- Liquidation refers to an exchange forcefully closing a trading position due to a partial or total loss of the trader’s initial margin.
- BlackRock’s iShares spot Bitcoin ETF application is still under review. The SEC’s final deadline to respond to BlackRock’s application is March 15, 2024.
- Many believe that SEC approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF for the U.S. will be a watershed moment for crypto, as it would theoretically open the door for an influx of institutional investment into the industry.
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