Enter Your Information Below To Receive Free Trading Ideas, Latest News And Articles.
Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!
A fake press release circulating online claimed that the asset management giant, BlackRock, had announced plans to launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The news caused Bitcoin prices to spike to a six-month high of nearly $13,500 earlier this week before traders realized the announcement was fake. According to data from ByBit, the drastic price movement led to a liquidation of more than $100 million in BTC contracts.
The hoax announcement was disseminated via email and detailed BlackRock’s plans to launch an ETF backed by physically settled Bitcoin. The news was also published on websites that appeared to be legitimate but had actually been created for the purpose of tricking investors.
BlackRock has repeatedly denied any plans to launch a Bitcoin ETF. Although many investors remain optimistic about the eventual prospect of a real BlackRock ETF, which would give the cryptocurrency more mainstream adoption, the incident has highlighted the vulnerability of the crypto market to misinformation. Despite increased attempts by blockchain analytics firms to clamp down on market manipulation, malicious actors continue to exploit the market for their own financial gain.