Bitcoin’s (BTC) price on Bitfinex’s perpetual swap market momentarily topped $56,000 on Tuesday – well above prevailing levels elsewhere and prices on Bitfinex’s exchange right before or after – amid a flurry of volume amid an absence of liquidity.
Trading volume on Bitfinex’s BTC-PERP market spiked to 322 BTC ($9.1 million) between 14:24 and 14:26 UTC, equating to around a quarter of daily volume on the trading pair.
Some traders’ positions were liquidated amid the flash rally, according to data on Bitfinex’s trading platform.
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Bitfinex spike (Bitfinex)
The move occurred at the same time as bitcoin surged 2.5% on spot markets elsewhere as investors reacted to the stock prices of two banks, Pacwest (PACW) and Western Alliance (WAL), plunging by more than 30% as concerns about the U.S. banking system resumed.
At press time, the BTC-PERP pair has 10% market depth of 110 BTC, meaning that an order to buy 110 BTC would move the price on that specific market by 10% – evidence liquidity remains low on Bitfinex.
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A Bitfinex spokesperson did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.