Speculation regarding what pushed Bitcoin (BTC) and the rest of the crypto market to astronomical highs in 2017 has taken a new turn according to a Bloomberg report today.
The new perspective is part of ongoing academic research first published last year, alleging that market misconduct, led to the price of Bitcoin reaching an all-time high towards the end of 2017.
The research authors, namely, University of Texas professor John Griffin and Ohio State University’s Amin Shams, have now said in an updated version of their findings that a single whale masterminded the market manipulation.
Griffin and Sham’s latest analysis claim that data gathered from Bitcoin and Tether (USDT) transactions conducted between March 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018, shows that buy orders for Bitcoin on Tether’s sister exchange, Bitfinex increased whenever the price value goes below a certain threshold.
Although the research paper reportedly failed to mention which entity masterminded the move, Griffin said in an interview:
Our results suggest that instead of thousands of investors moving the price of Bitcoin, it’s just one large one. Years from now, people will be surprised to learn investors handed over billions to people they didn’t know and who faced little oversight.
Further, in a new peer-reviewed paper attached to a forthcoming Journal of Finance, the academics alleged that the buying pattern followed periods of Tether printing “driven by a single large account holder, and not observed by other exchanges.”
They added,
Simulations show that these patterns are highly unlikely to be due to chance. This one large player or entity either exhibited clairvoyant market timing or exerted an extremely large price impact on Bitcoin that is not observed in aggregate flows from other smaller traders.
Meanwhile, Tether denied the new findings with General Counsel Stuart Hoegner telling Bloomberg that the paper is foundationally flawed, lacks academic rigor, and was probably published to back a “parasitic lawsuit” recently filed against Tether.
Bitcoin Whale Image from our archives
