Bitcoin 'Flash Rally' Briefly Pushed BTC Derivatives Above $56K on Bitfinex
The spike triggered a series of liquidations on the exchange.
/arc-photo-coindesk/arc2-prod/public/LXF2COBSKBCNHNRE3WTK2BZ7GE.png)
Bitcoin's (BTC) price on Bitfinex's perpetual swap market momentarily topped $56,000 on Tuesday – well above prevailing levels elsewhere and prices on Bitfinex's exchange right before or after – amid a flurry of volume amid an absence of liquidity.
Trading volume on Bitfinex's BTC-PERP market spiked to 322 BTC ($9.1 million) between 14:24 and 14:26 UTC, equating to around a quarter of daily volume on the trading pair.
Some traders' positions were liquidated amid the flash rally, according to data on Bitfinex's trading platform.
:format(jpg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/ILTPHE6FZ5EEJO5TLSBBXLHNRA.png)
The move occurred at the same time as bitcoin surged 2.5% on spot markets elsewhere as investors reacted to the stock prices of two banks, Pacwest (PACW) and Western Alliance (WAL), plunging by more than 30% as concerns about the U.S. banking system resumed.
At press time, the BTC-PERP pair has 10% market depth of 110 BTC, meaning that an order to buy 110 BTC would move the price on that specific market by 10% – evidence liquidity remains low on Bitfinex.
Paolo Ardoino, Bitfinex's chief technology officer, tweeted: "Low liquidity at that moment in time. But system worked as expected. Matching engine handled all orders correctly."
UPDATE (May 2, 2023, 14:40 UTC): Adds a tweet from Bitfinex's CTO.
Disclosure
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, institutional digital assets exchange. Bullish group is majority owned by Block.one; both groups have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary, and an editorial committee, chaired by a former editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, is being formed to support journalistic integrity.
Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.