Bitcoin experienced a rapid rise on Tuesday during trading hours in the US, quickly moving from around $91,000 to over $94,000 in two hours, catching many traders off guard. While some celebrate the surprise rally, others are raising a warning sign: it is being discussed that this movement could be an example of market manipulation in itself.
One of the most striking concerns is the lack of any fundamental reason to support the rise.
Millions Entered Within Minutes Without Any Catalyst
Cryptocurrency trader Vivek Sen emphasized that there is no major news or announcement that would justify the sudden surge. The absence of such a clear catalyst has increased claims that the movement is not natural but artificially orchestrated.
On-chain analysts detected unusual trading movements in a short time. According to DeFi researcher DeFiTracer, the market maker Wintermute purchased $68 million worth of Bitcoin in just one hour during this surge. Another analyst, DefiWimar, noted that several major players like Coinbase, BitMEX, and Binance coordinated high-value purchases, describing this movement as 'coordinated manipulation.'
Experienced trader NoLimitGains shared a detailed analysis indicating that the surge is artificial. He listed some warning signs: the extreme weakness of order books making it easy and cheap to push prices up, large market purchases occurring within minutes, and no continuation of movement after the initial surge... According to him, real bull movements trap investors with manipulated movements.
Traders Were Liquidated on Both Sides: Classic Liquidity Hunting Signal
Perhaps the most striking claim relates to a strategy defined by traders as 'liquidity hunting.' Here, large players intentionally raise prices to trigger forced liquidations.
When traders open leveraged positions, they set liquidation levels that will automatically close if the market moves against them. These liquidation points generally cluster at predictable price levels and attract the focus of professional players. When the Bitcoin price is sharply pushed up, big names trigger the stops of traders in short positions: this leads to downward traders closing positions at a loss and buying back at a higher price. These forced purchases fuel the rally while providing high selling opportunities to manipulators inflating the price.
Trader Orbion highlighted this process, stating that within the day, there were liquidations of $70 million in long positions and $61 million in short liquidations within a few hours, indicating that both sides suffered losses.
NoLimitGains reminded that such vertical price movements tend to retract quickly in the past. He pointed out the rapid increase in open positions as funding rates hit record levels and stated that there are serious signals in the market. According to him, large players may see individual investors' excitement as a selling opportunity.
Not Everyone Believes It's Manipulation
However, not all analysts agree that this movement is manipulation. On-chain analyst Darkfost argued that the simultaneous release of U.S. employment data could be a legitimate catalyst for the rally. October's JOLTS job openings came in at 7.67 million, well above the expected 7 million. Meanwhile, weekly ADP employment figures returned to positive territory after a decline.
The analyst emphasized that Bitcoin rose about 4% immediately after the data was released. As the FOMC meeting approaches, there is an overall expectation of interest rate cuts in the market. Darkfost noted that the current macro environment is favorable for risky assets and that the rally can be explained by fundamental dynamics.
As of 14:30 UTC, Bitcoin has pulled back from its peak and is trading at around $92,500.
