BitMEX was offline due to an error of 25 minutes and experienced record liquidation – Accident or targeted manipulation?
2 min read
The situation is very tense worldwide. Stock markets are falling at a fast pace, with cryptocurrencies flying down much faster. The dreams of a safe harbor during the crisis are clearly gone. Bitcoin fell to $ 3,700 this night. Conspiracy theories began to emerge, that it is partly because of BitMEX and its downtime. Is it an unfortunate coincidence or targeted manipulation?
Hardware problems
Due to hardware problems, BitMEX was offline for about 25 minutes while resolving the problem by 3:00 UTC. In the tweet, this exchange said:
Between 02:16 and 02:40 UTC 13 March 2020 we became aware of a hardware issue with our cloud service provider causing BitMEX requests to be delayed. Normal service resumed at 03:00 UTC. As a reminder, latest system updates can be found on our status page https://t.co/fVa1FAqSEW
— BitMEX (@BitMEXdotcom) March 13, 2020
Currency Exchange has seen more liquidations than any other day in the past year, while total volumes for BTC futures also broke records.
BitMEX strongly rejects conspiracy theories
Due to the large loss of bitmex traders, BitMEX is currently facing intense criticism. One theory, in addition to technical reliability, even suggests that the exchange “contributed” to record daily losses of BTC / USD.
“Insane theory of the day: there was no BitMEX hardware issue” written by Sam Bankman-Fried, Managing Director of Alameda and FTX Competitive Stock Exchange. According to Sam Bankman-Fried, it was BitMEX’s unwillingness to address market conditions that accelerated the decline in BTC. When the platform went offline, Bitcoin recovered.
BitMEX stated that it considered all these statements to be rich conspiracy theories.
"Insane" is right. Sam, you know better than to deal in this type of conspiracy theory, especially since you operate a platform in the space and under pic.twitter.com/NvNvUrYg0I
— BitMEX (@BitMEXdotcom) March 13, 2020
Since Thursday, 1,600 BTC ($ 8.6 million) has been withdrawn from BitMEX Insurance Fund for 24 hours, which seems to be a record.
