Bitcoin sheds $50 billion in market capitalization after fake SEC ETF approval rattles market Bitcoin sheds $50 billion in market capitalization after fake SEC ETF approval rattles market
Traders speculating on digital asset prices lost nearly $220 million during the past day.
2 min read
Updated: Jan. 10, 2024 at 8:18 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Bitcoin’s (BTC) market capitalization dropped by around $50 billion during the last 24 hours after a fake approval post of spot exchange-traded funds (ETF) emerged on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official handle on X.
Data from CryptoSlate shows that the top cryptocurrency by market capitalization fell to as low as $890 billion from $938 billion immediately after the fake news emerged. It has since recovered to around $900 billion as of press time.
Following the fake news, BTC’s value surged to nearly $48,000, as it immediately grabbed significant attention, prompting premature celebrations among crypto enthusiasts anticipating this groundbreaking decision.
Subsequently, the asset price swiftly plummeted to $45,100 after it was revealed that the SEC’s account had been compromised. SEC Chair Gary Gensler refuted the news of the supposed ETF approval, leading to a sharp correction in the flagship cryptocurrency’s value.
This wild price movement also impacted the broader market as large-cap alternative cryptocurrencies like Cardano (ADA), Avalanche (AVAX), Solana (SOL), BNB, and XRP recorded losses of more than 2%, respectively. Additionally, the entire cryptocurrency market is down 1.15% over 24 hours.
Interestingly, Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, bucked the trend and is up 2.8% over the same period.
Nearly $220M liquidated.
The volatile price movement also resulted in nearly $220 million worth of liquidation for more than 71,000 traders who held positions in the market.
Coinglass data shows that traders betting on further price increases bore the brunt of the losses, with around $134 million liquidated. On the other hand, traders with bearish sentiments— short traders—lost $83.1 million during the reporting period.
Investors speculating on the price movements of the leading cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum, faced a collective loss of $126 million. This substantial loss primarily impacted long traders in these assets.
One standout occurrence was the liquidation of a significant $6 million long position in BTC, which occurred on the Bybit exchange, marking the most significant single liquidation order observed during this period.
Meanwhile, crypto traders using the embattled Binance platform accounted for nearly 38%, or $82.35 million, of the total losses suffered in the market. OKX users were liquidated for $72.82 million, while those on ByBit lost $36 million.
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Author 
Oluwapelumi Adejumo
Oluwapelumi values Bitcoin's potential. He imparts insights on a range of topics like DeFi, hacks, mining and culture, underlining transformative power.
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In this article
Bitcoin, a decentralized currency that defies the sway of central banks or administrators, transacts electronically, circumventing intermediaries via a peer-to-peer network.
Ethereum
$3,558.59
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform that enables the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps).
Solana
$222.269
Solana is a high-performance blockchain platform that utilizes a unique consensus algorithm called “Proof of History” to achieve fast transaction speeds and low fees.
Cardano
$1.18901
Cardano is a decentralized public blockchain and cryptocurrency project and is fully open source.
XRP
$2.52216
The XRP Ledger is a decentralized cryptographic ledger powered by a network of peer-to-peer servers.
Avalanche
$49.8582
Avalanche is an umbrella platform for launching decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, financial assets, trading and other services.
Binance
Binance is a global cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading more than 100 cryptocurrencies.
OKX
OKX is a world-leading digital asset exchange, providing advanced financial services to global traders by using blockchain technology.
Bybit
Bybit is a cryptocurrency derivative trading platform established in March 2018 and registered in the BVI.
Gary Gensler is an American government official and former investment banker who President Joseph Biden nominated to chair the U.S.
