Those tweets caused bitcoin prices to immediately spike to $47,680 from the $46,800 level. It then fell as low as $45,400 as the tweets were found to be fake
Price volatility following a series of fake tweets from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s X account caused nearly $90 million worth of bitcoin (BTC) long and short positions to be liquidated, showcasing manipulation risks associated with the industry.
Hackers caught hold of SEC’s X account on Tuesday, using it to post a nod for the much-awaited bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval decision. It later posted “$BTC,” before both tweets were promptly deleted.
Those tweets caused bitcoin prices to immediately spike to $47,680 from the $46,800 level. It then fell as low as $45,400 as the tweets were found to be fake.
Punters and automated bots, however, reacted quickly to the tweets. Over $500 million in futures positions were opened in a ten-minute period following the initial post, data shows. But the highly-levered positions took a hit as prices whipsawed: Some $50 million in longs were liquidated while $36 million in shorts were impacted
