Bitcoin prices jumped by as much as 7% almost instantly at around 11am AEST.
The move coincided directly with a scheduled shutdown of trading platform BitMEX, for maintenance purposes.
Insiders say the shutdown led to wild trading opportunities.
Prices have subsequently eased back slightly after almost reaching $US7,000.
Bitcoin’s value surged this morning, rocketing from around $US6,450 to almost $US6,900 almost instantly.
Prices peaked at $US6,899 before easing back slightly: https://edge.alluremedia.com.au/uploads/*/2018/08/btc-1.jpgMarkets Insider
The move coincided with scheduled maintenance on BitMEX, a derivates trading platform for Bitcoin and other cryptos which allows leveraged trades.
The platform went down at 11am AEST today — which was the exact moment that Bitcoin spiked.
Industry insiders indicated the spike appeared to be directly related to the BitMEX shutdown. Hunter Horsely, the CEO of Bitwise, told Business Insider that the shutdown sparked a widespread trade to buy.
