BREAKING: BitMEX trading engine goes offline

Bitcoin derivatives exchange BitMEX has gone offline for unscheduled maintenance after the trading engine suffered a “major outage”.

A statement on the exchange reads: “The Trading Engine is currently offline. We’re working to bring it back online as soon as possible. Further updates to follow shortly.”

BitMEX has not been offline since the coronavirus-induced crash on March 13, which saw trading halted following a cascade of liquidated long positions.

The CEO of rival exchange FTX recently suggested that the timing of the outage likely prevented the price of Bitcoin from tumbling further, with the price bouncing as soon as it came back online.

This time around spectators are unsure at the potential impact BitMEX going down will have on price action, but as it is one of the largest in terms of trade volume and open positions volatility is expected.

Price has already begun to tumble on other exchanges like Bitfinex, with Bitcoin falling from its daily high of $9,880 to where it is not at $9,606.

If the price of Bitcoin begins to fall further on other exchanges before BitMEX comes back online it would trigger a spurt in liquidations when it goes back live.

This would, undeniably, cause Bitcoin to drop even further with a test of the $8,830 level of support looking likely.

During the previous outage more than $665 million in long positions were liquidated, making it one of the most severe days in the history of Bitcoin.

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Disclaimer: This is not financial advice.