{"id":77778,"date":"2018-08-23T04:00:18","date_gmt":"2018-08-23T11:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/?p=77778"},"modified":"2019-11-07T06:03:21","modified_gmt":"2019-11-07T06:03:21","slug":"did-bitmex-maintenance-and-manipulation-actually-cause-a-bitcoin-pump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/did-bitmex-maintenance-and-manipulation-actually-cause-a-bitcoin-pump\/","title":{"rendered":"Did BitMEX Maintenance and Manipulation Actually Cause a Bitcoin Pump?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"graf graf--p\">After trading sideways for a week, <a href=\"http:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/coins\/bitcoin\">Bitcoin<\/a> volatility came back roaring with a 6 percent move, adding $5 billion to the total market cap in about 20 minutes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">In the world of crypto, 5-6 percent moves in minutes are the norm, although it\u2019s not often that one can point to a specific catalyst for pumps. Yesterday, there was possible evidence of manipulation in the Bitcoin markets, as large traders (or a single trader) pushed up the price of Bitcoin during BitMEX's downtime. BitMEX is one of Bitcoin's largest cryptocurrency exchanges.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Scheduled Maintenance to begin in a few minutes at 01:00 UTC.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; BitMEX (@BitMEXdotcom) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BitMEXdotcom\/status\/1032069173529194496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 22, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"graf graf--h3\">The Evidence<\/h2>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">This particular move has raised red flags due to the seemingly planned nature of the pump, as well as the subsequent outcry from the community about the unfair and manipulated nature of the markets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">The timing of the pump is definitely suspect, as it started at the exact second BitMEX shut down for maintenance. While it\u2019s unclear where this buy volume came from, it\u2019s clear that it was either a single player or a group of deep-pocketed traders.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"graf graf--figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"graf-image\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/1600\/1*N_1y8m5I8kgR-9Ihvq7LJA.png\" \/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">The pump originated on Bitfinex, with the highest volume coming from that particular exchange.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">It can be determined that the pump started on Bitfinex by looking at the premium paid for BTC on the exchange vs. what users would pay on other exchanges. The chart below explores the premium of buying Bitcoin on Bitfinex vs. buying Bitcoin on <a href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/products\/coinbase\/\">Coinbase<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">At the time of the pump, the premium for Bitfinex Bitcoin rose by almost $150, meaning the market order pushed up the price on Bitfinex first, and the Bitcoin price on Coinbase followed.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"graf graf--figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"graf-image\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/1600\/1*TRGZ6b-yCB_x07WZQByRmQ.png\" \/><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"graf graf--h3\">The Motivation<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_77866\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-77866\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-77866\" src=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/another-day-another-etf-denial-social-300x158.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-77866\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Related Article:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/another-day-another-etf-denial-sec-rejects-7-bitcoin-etf-proposals\/\">Another Day, Another ETF Denial: SEC Rejects 7 Bitcoin ETF Proposals<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">People have been piling on shorts in the past couple of days in anticipation of a market overreaction to the ETF denial, which was released Aug. 22. Most shorts opened are now underwater, and many people that were shorting the market on BitMEX also set market stop-losses to protect themselves in case of a pump. The situation was primed for a \u201cshort squeeze.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"graf graf--p\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--blockquote-strong\">What is a Short Squeeze?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">When the market moves up rapidly against the expectation of those shorting, something called a \u201cshort squeeze\u201d occurs. Due to a rapid rise in price, people shorting the market are automatically forced to close out all of their positions, and the market buys Bitcoin to cover their short positions. This creates a feedback loop and further pushes up the price of Bitcoin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Often, whales will attempt to trigger a short squeeze, as one can profit immensely from it. For example, if you push the price of Bitcoin from $6,500 to $6,700, shorts with an entry point of $6,600 will be forced to close their positions, which means the market buying Bitcoin (or liquidation). This will push the price even higher and allow whales to exit at a profit.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"graf graf--figure\">\n<p><figure style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"graf-image\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/1600\/1*YaSUKcz_qR2_VehEC1lJzA.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"982\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Red = Price Below Current; Green = Price Above\u00a0Current<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">It\u2019s clear from the chart that the majority of shorts opened were already underwater, and that a few hundred dollars of price action would drive massive amounts of liquidations and push the price upward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Over the past few months, liquidity has significantly declined, allowing people with large amounts of capital the opportunity to take advantage of moments like this, where traders are unable to tend to their positions.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"graf graf--h3\">The Effects<\/h2>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">When BitMEX came back online, many people who had short positions were immediately liquidated at sky-high prices due to huge price movement during the pump. In the minutes after re-opening, BitMEX saw Bitcoin prices briefly hit $7,100, just seconds after trading at $6,450.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"graf graf--figure\">\n<p><figure style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"graf-image\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/1600\/1*jk4DNAVmET-a-jvypWRNxw.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1028\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">5m Candles. The high on BitMEX was $7,100.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">This caused additional mayhem in the markets, with Tron seeing a 108 percent increase in seconds and Ripple seeing a whopping 400-plus percent price bump due to liquidations.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"graf graf--h3\">Is this Manipulation?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">The suspicion comes from the following pieces:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"postList\">\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\">No news catalyst.<\/li>\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\">Huge volume originating on one exchange, which was only followed by other exchanges after a delay. This indicates one big buyer or a group of buyers colluding.<\/li>\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\">Immediate retracement down less than 24 hours later\u00a0to almost the exact same price as before, indicating price movement was artificial.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"graf graf--figure\">\n<p><figure style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"graf-image\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/1600\/1*BQog-mv3i0B89WwyVVBIYw.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1077\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Almost exact retracement a few hours\u00a0later<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">If there was any collusion, this is definitely manipulation. Even if there wasn\u2019t, it is illegal to artificially inflate the price of an asset to cause liquidations or entice other traders to enter the market.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Most likely, no legal action will come from this as it is too difficult to prove who exactly caused this pump and what the intentions of the trader\/traders were.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Some people, however, claim that because the maintenance was public information, it was just a trader taking advantage of the moment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">In reality, it doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s public information, it\u2019s manipulation to push up the price of an asset in this manner if they wouldn\u2019t have bought it otherwise\u2014which without this opportunity they likely wouldn\u2019t have.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Even if no manipulation was involved, it highlights a huge issue in the markets; the importance of BitMEX, a fully unregulated market with 40 percent market share. One exchange shutting down shouldn\u2019t provide an opportunity for people to game the system.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_73160\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-73160\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-73160\" src=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bitcoin-etf-approval-social-300x158.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bitcoin-etf-approval-social-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bitcoin-etf-approval-social-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bitcoin-etf-approval-social-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bitcoin-etf-approval-social.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-73160\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Related Article:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/what-will-it-take-to-get-the-bitcoin-etf-approved\/\">What Will It Take to Get the Bitcoin ETF Approved?<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Tuesday's market movement throws a wrench in the plans of any ETF approval, as the SEC has made it clear <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/what-will-it-take-to-get-the-bitcoin-etf-approved\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">their biggest concern with an ETF is market manipulation.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">The real winner in all of this? BitMEX, who most recently <a href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/while-bitmain-faces-investor-flak-bitmex-rents-out-worlds-most-expensive-office\/\">purchased the most expensive real estate<\/a> in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After trading sideways for a week, Bitcoin volatility came back roaring with a 6 percent move, adding $5 billion to the total market cap in about 20 minutes. In the world of crypto, 5-6 percent moves in minutes are the norm, although it\u2019s not often that one can point to a specific catalyst for pumps. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,25891],"tags":[],"prediction_market_topic":[],"post_folder":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.9 (Yoast SEO v21.9.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Did BitMEX Maintenance and Manipulation Actually Cause a Bitcoin Pump?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/did-bitmex-maintenance-and-manipulation-actually-cause-a-bitcoin-pump\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Did BitMex Maintenance and Manipulation Actually Cause a Bitcoin Pump?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After trading sideways for a week, Bitcoin volatility came back roaring with a 6 percent move, adding $5 billion to the total market cap in about 20 minutes. 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