On October 12, Binance released a statement following an internal review of the incident. According to the exchange, core spot and futures matching engines, as well as API trading, remained operational.Still, the explanation failed to calm all critics. Some users accused Binance of benefiting from the trading freeze, alleging that the disruption allowed the exchange to profit during peak volatility.Binance publicly acknowledged disruptions during the event. The exchange cited “heavy market activity” as the ...

Market Overview - The cryptocurrency market experienced a significant decline, with major digital assets falling sharply and liquidations increasing, undermining expectations for a year-end "Santa rally" [1][12] - Bitcoin's price dropped over 3% in 24 hours, falling from nearly $90,000 to approximately $85,833, marking its lowest level since December 1 [2][13] - Ethereum and XRP also saw declines, with Ethereum down more than 4% to around $2,955 and XRP falling roughly 4.5% to $1.90, its weakest price this month [3][12] Liquidations - The sell-off resulted in a surge of liquidations, with approximately $573 million in crypto positions wiped out in the last 24 hours, predominantly from long positions totaling around $486 million [4][5] - Bitcoin led the liquidations with about $205 million, followed by Ethereum at approximately $156 million [5][4] Stock Market Reaction - The overall cryptocurrency market lost more than 3% of its value in a single day, contrasting with minimal movement in stock markets, where the S&P 500 was down about 0.1% and the Nasdaq slipped roughly 0.3% [7][12] Impact on Crypto-Related Stocks - Crypto-related stocks faced significant pressure, with Bitcoin miner CleanSpark falling about 15%, crypto exchange Gemini down 12%, and Ethereum treasury firm BitMine Immersion Technologies down roughly 8% [8][14] - Coinbase shares slid more than 5%, while Robinhood experienced a decline of less than 2% [8][14] Market Sentiment and Accusations - As prices fell, there were accusations of coordinated selling on social media, with claims that entities like Binance and Wintermute were involved in dumping large amounts of Bitcoin, leading to over $100 million in long positions being liquidated in minutes [9][14] - Some analysts argued that the sell-off was a result of normal liquidity flows and user-driven selling rather than manipulation [9][14] International Developments - Traders are monitoring developments from Japan, where the Bank of Japan has indicated it may start selling portions of its exchange-traded fund holdings as early as January, potentially affecting market dynamics [10][11] - The anticipated gradual sell-off of about $2.1 million to $2.3 million per year aims to avoid unsettling markets, with implications for the yen carry trade as Japanese bond yields rise [11][10]