Bitcoin Price Jumped $450 in Minutes (But Why?)

The sudden spike interestingly occurred simultaneously with the scheduled maintenance on Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange, commonly known as BitMEX. As noted by Business Insider, the popular peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading platform halted trading at 9 p.m. EST on Tuesday, August 21 — which is exactly when that the first and foremost cryptocurrency opened up a lengthy green candle. The price topped out at roughly $6,900 before correcting. At the time of this writing, BTC is trading at $6682.

Silly Short-Term Trade?

Industry insiders like Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsely claim that the sudden buy action directly correlated to BitMEX’s maintenance.   CoinRoutes CEO Dave Weisberger, meanwhile, told the business news website that the move offered an increasingly-rare arbitrage — taking advantage of price differences between two or more exchanges — opportunity.   Some individuals like “Bitcoin evangelist” Alistair Milne correctly predicted the price action on social media, where he called for a “Massive Bitcoin short squeeze.”

Massive Bitcoin short squeeze to coincide with BitMex downtime tomorrow?
Stranger things have happened …

— Alistair Milne (@alistairmilne) August 21, 2018

However, the short squeeze Milne correctly predicted wasn’t particularly “massive,” as short orders, though fewer, still number near all-time highs — possibly due to traders’ anticipation that the upcoming ProShares Bitcoin ETF will be denied or have its decision delayed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, Bitcoin’s recent failed attempt at establishing a bull market — which notably ended with, for all intents and purposes, a full retracement — has many players calling for the breakdown of key support levels and new yearly lows in the vicinity of $5,000. What do you think about the minutes-long Bitcoin price increase coinciding with BitMEX’s scheduled maintenance? Do you think Bitcoin will soon see a new low for 2018? Let us know in the comments below!