Over $400 million in liquidations as BTC shed $3,000 in minutes

Bitcoin and altcoins experienced massive volatility Friday night following a controversial report from the Wall Street Journal, which was immediately denied by Tether’s CEO.

However, the damage was done, hurting over-leveraged traders as liquidations soared to over $400 million on a daily basis.

CryptoPotato reported on WSJ claims that the US federal government had launched an investigation into the company behind the world’s largest stablecoin for possible violations of anti-money laundering rules and sanctions.

He also stated that prosecutors from the US attorney’s office in Manhattan were investigating whether the USDT was used by bad actors to avoid sanctions and other US regulations.

Minutes after the report was published, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino refuted the claims made by the WSJ, saying: “As we told the WSJ, there is no indication that Tether is under investigation. The WSJ is regurgitating an ancient noise. Full stop.”

He later added that the stablecoin issuer, which has now expanded its presence into many other industries, including BTC mining, deals “regularly and directly with law enforcement officials to help prevent rogue nations from , terrorists and criminals misuse the USDT.”

At Tether, we deal regularly and directly with law enforcement officials to help prevent rogue nations, terrorists, and criminals from misusing USDt. We would know if we are being investigated as the article falsely claimed. Based on this, we can confirm that the allegations in…

— Paolo Ardoino (@paoloardoino) October 25, 2024

Such news usually has an immediate impact on cryptocurrency market prices, and this time was no exception. BTC hovered near $69,000, but instantly spilled over three grand to $65,500. It regained some ground and is now trading at nearly $67,000.

With most altcoins following suit, total liquidations have soared to $405 million on a daily basis. Interestingly, the highs were responsible for the lion’s share, surpassing $100 million, with BTC and ETH trailing behind at $68 million and $65 million, respectively.

According to CoinGlass, almost 150,000 overleveraged traders have been busted in the last day.

Total value of liquidations 26.10.2024. Source: CoinGlass SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored) Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive an exclusive welcome offer of $600 to Binance (full details).

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