The crypto market was sent into a frenzy on Monday after fake news broke about the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval of BlackRock’s spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) application. The repercussions of the outbreak led to more than $100 million in losses among traders, a source shared.
An X (formally Twitter) post by Cointelegraph on Monday suggested that the SEC has approved the long-awaited spot bitcoin ETF, leading to a massive market movement. Bitcoin led the uptrend, gaining up to 10% in a matter of minutes to get to $30,000 before retracing. The rapid market movement led to several position liquidations worth more than $100 million.
Misinformation
Reacting to the news, Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart stated that the circulating information initiated by Cointelegraph was false.
“I believe this to be fake news. While this would be positive for the things we’ve been saying, I can’t find anything that would confirm this at the moment,” Seyffart tweeted. “To be clear, if this is a source within SEC saying it’s going to be approved. That’s one thing. I can’t find an approval order, though. Need to see a source/link,” he added.
The analyst further confirmed his stand by citing a tweet from Fox reporter Eleanor Terrett, who debunked the news, alleging inside information from BlackRock. Seyffart also noted he spoke with Bloomberg reporters with sources in the SEC and BlackRock, and they confirmed the lack of integrity in the fast-circulating rumor.
Bloodbath
The news was quite costly for traders, especially those in short positions. Traders lost over $70 million in short positions and $31.89 million in long positions. Losses on short positions were higher as Bitcoin printed more than $2,000 in minutes before liquidating traders who later opened a long position with a move back to $28,000.
An X user suggested that the numbers might be higher than what statistical data revealed, considering the “under-reporting” of liquidations by crypto exchanges. Cointelegraph would also hope that users affected would not take legal action against the news outlet.
