A fabricated report claiming that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had approved Blackrock’s Ishares spot bitcoin BTC 2.60% exchange-traded fund led to the liquidation of short positions worth $78.92 million.
This staggering amount represented 57% of the total $136.29 million in short positions that were wiped out within a 24-hour span.
The misleading report about the SEC’s decision sent shockwaves through the Bitcoin market, resulting in the elimination of millions of dollars in short bets. Following the spread of this false information, the value of Bitcoin (BTC) against the US dollar surged by more than 10%. This surge was primarily fueled by rumors disseminated on social media platform X and its associated Telegram channels.
However, the euphoria was short-lived. Once the news was debunked, the digital currency briefly touched a high of $29,900 per Bitcoin, only to plummet to $28,100 shortly after. Although apologies were issued in the aftermath of the revelation, the damage had been done. The market turbulence that ensued was unstoppable, leading to the obliteration of short positions valued at $78.92 million.
Data from Coinglass indicated that within a four-hour window, BTC short positions accounted for $71.36 million of the liquidated shorts. Additionally, short positions for Solana SOL 1.23% (SOL) worth approximately $2.49 million were also liquidated. This $78.92 million figure equates to 57% of the total short positions liquidated in the 24 hours of that day, a fact that has left many in the financial community astounded.
During the same four-hour period, Ethereum ETH 2.40% (ETH) long positions exceeding $18 million were also liquidated. Following the exposure of the fake news, there was a significant decline in short positions on Bitfinex. In contrast, before the false news was verified, there was a sharp increase in Bitfinex’s long positions, which subsequently decreased.
This erroneous news event resulted in a large number of traders being liquidated, potentially quelling speculation surrounding the actual decision. The most significant liquidations were observed in BTC, ETH, XRP XRP 0.91%, BNB, and SOL.
