Talking Points
- The GDAX exchange temporarily suspended Ethereum trading as the price plunged.
- Stop-loss orders hit as Ethereum temporarily traded as low as $0.10.
The volatile nature of crypto-currencies, and their various exchanges, was laid bare on Wednesday when the price of Ethereum (ETH) plunged from over $317 to touch a ‘spike-low’ of just $0.10, on the GDAX exchange.
According to a GDAX blog post, a multi-million USD sell-order saw orders filled between $317.81 down to $224.48 before tripping around 800 stop loss orders and margin funding liquidations “causing ETH to temporarily trade as low as $0.10.”
The GDAX blog highlights that there was no indication of wrongdoing or account takeover and that the exchanges’ matching engine operated as intended throughout the event.
Market heavyweight Bitcoin (BTC) remained immune to the trading problems at GDAX and traded just 1.25% lower at $2642. BTC has soared in recent weeks, and months, as investors eye a variety of uses for the digital currency and its technology.
Chart: Bitcoin Daily Timeframe (February 25 – June 22, 2017)
If you would like to practice trading Bitcoin, you can set-up a demo account here
--- Written by Nick Cawley, Analyst
To contact Nick, email him at nicholas.cawley@ig.com
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