As data emerged, the Bitcoin liquidation cascade was nothing short of devastating, eclipsing a staggering $71 million as the short-lived market euphoria abruptly shifted course. According to Coinglass, the total sum of liquidations across the crypto space following the false ETF news amounted to a jaw-dropping $114.7 million.
But how did this blunder happen?
Cointelegraph, in their initial tweet, announced, ‘BREAKING: SEC APPROVES ISHARES BITCOIN SPOT EFT’ only to backtrack by appending the word ‘REPORTEDLY’ to their tweet half an hour later.
In a report released by the Cointelegraph about the incident. You can see employees in an internal Slack chat embroiled in a frenzy of discussion. The frantic search for an official source of this supposed revelation was unfound.
However, amidst the chaos, an astute observer by the name of ZackXBT, known for their investigative skills, swiftly discerned the source of this misinformation. Astonishingly, it was revealed that this supposed news had first made its appearance in an unofficial Telegram group chat 39 minutes before Cointelegraph’s official announcement. The Telegram user that posted the message has now deleted their account.
https://x.com/zachxbt/status/1713949999476711883?s=20
This information was later confirmed in the incident report released by Cointelegraph: “The editorial team was alerted to the rumored news through a Telegram channel that Cointelegraph employees use to discover stories that might be of interest to readers”
Unsurprisingly, this monumental blunder has cast speculation that this incident may further exacerbate the SEC’s apprehensions of a Bitcoin ETF due to the potential for market manipulation within the crypto space. In response, the SEC issued the following statement on X (Twitter):
In conclusion, the astonishing events of October 16, 2023, exemplify the power of information in the world. A single tweet, a mere collection of characters and words, managed to send Bitcoin price soaring, triggering a monumental cascade of liquidations and market turbulence. The incident also highlighted the precarious nature of news dissemination in our digital age. The rush to be the first to report and the subtle nuances of language played a pivotal role in this debacle.
