Wipes – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com Latest Crypto News Fri, 12 Sep 2025 18:24:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.7 https://i0.wp.com/earlybirdsinvest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cropped-New-Project-2024-12-17T235703.455.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Wipes – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com 32 32 240146708 Coinbase Seeks Sanctions After SEC Wipes Gary Gensler’s Text Messages https://earlybirdsinvest.com/coinbase-seeks-sanctions-after-sec-wipes-gary-genslers-text-messages/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/coinbase-seeks-sanctions-after-sec-wipes-gary-genslers-text-messages/#respond Fri, 12 Sep 2025 18:24:43 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/coinbase-seeks-sanctions-after-sec-wipes-gary-genslers-text-messages/

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is facing criticism after an internal review showed that former Chair Gary Gensler’s text messages were erased between October 2022 and September 2023.

The Inspector General confirmed the records were permanently deleted, which raises concerns about how the agency manages and preserves important communications.

According to the SEC, it uses a system that wipes government-issued devices if they remain disconnected from the network for more than 45 days.

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In response, Coinbase



$2.33B

has asked a federal court in Washington, DC, to issue sanctions against the SEC, require faster discovery, and order the release of all remaining records.

In its filing, Coinbase said the destruction has caused harm that cannot be fixed and urged the court to halt a “destroy-and-delay” approach.

The company also pointed to the Freedom of Information Act disputes. The SEC first blocked Coinbase’s requests by claiming exemptions tied to law enforcement. That stance changed after Coinbase sued in June 2024.

Coinbase stated that the SEC could have processed or at least protected the records in 2023 if it had carried out timely searches.

Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal stated in a post on X that the SEC “destroyed documents they were required to preserve and produce”, and pointed to the Inspector General’s findings as proof.

Meanwhile, a group of international regulators and exchange associations recently asked the SEC to take a stance on tokenized stocks. What did they say? Read the full story.

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/coinbase-seeks-sanctions-after-sec-wipes-gary-genslers-text-messages/feed/ 0 58102 Ethereum slashing wipes funds of 40 validators punished for double-signing https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ethereum-slashing-wipes-funds-of-40-validators-punished-for-double-signing/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ethereum-slashing-wipes-funds-of-40-validators-punished-for-double-signing/#respond Thu, 11 Sep 2025 11:07:24 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ethereum-slashing-wipes-funds-of-40-validators-punished-for-double-signing/

Ethereum’s Beacon Chain recorded a major slashing event on Sept. 10, with 40 validators penalized for pushing conflicting attestations.

Initial reports pointed to validator nodes tied to StakeFi, Allnodes, and SSV Network. However, further on-chain investigation showed that most affected operators were connected to Ankr.

Beacon Chain reported that one validator was “slashed’ 0.3 ETH, which was worth roughly $1,300 at the time. If similar losses occurred across the group, the cumulative penalty could exceed $52,000.

What went wrong?

Slashing occurs when validators act against consensus rules, often by publishing contradictory attestations.

Preston Vanloon, an Ethereum core developer, explained that such errors usually appear when validator keys are run across multiple environments. In that situation, nodes may see different views of the chain, leading to double-signing and automatic penalties.

He said:

“These validators published conflicting attestations.”

Vanloon further agreed that the issue might have stemmed from the impacted firms’ committing a blunder while migrating a validator.

Meanwhile, the Ethereum developer stressed that the validators must keep operating until they exit the network despite the fines.

According to him:

“Slashed validators are obligated to continue performing their duties until they are exited. If they are offline during the exit queue, then they will have liveness penalties applied. The slashing penalty has already been applied so it’s just the liveness penalties from here.”

Ethereum slashing

Mass slashing remains a rare occurrence on Ethereum, as evidenced by the fact that, apart from the recent one, there have only been 15 such cases this year. Migalabs’ data shows that only 525 validators have faced slashing penalties since 2020.

However, history shows how quickly these events can escalate and lead to steep financial losses. In November 2023, nearly 100 validators tied to Bitcoin Suisse lost almost $200,000 as they were slashed for submitting incorrect attestations.

These cases highlight how operational errors can trigger immediate financial consequences in a system that enforces consensus through economic discipline.

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]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ethereum-slashing-wipes-funds-of-40-validators-punished-for-double-signing/feed/ 0 57881 Bitcoin liquidation cascade wipes out $646 million in 24 hours https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-liquidation-cascade-wipes-out-646-million-in-24-hours/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-liquidation-cascade-wipes-out-646-million-in-24-hours/#respond Fri, 25 Jul 2025 08:57:43 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-liquidation-cascade-wipes-out-646-million-in-24-hours/

Bitcoin’s drawdown to $115,300 punished the aggressive long leverage piled up in the market. BTC dropped from $117,786 at yesterday’s open to $115,353 in the early hours today, a 2.1 % slide that masked a deeper intraday swing of about $4,350 between high and low. That modest slip lit a fire under derivatives books stuffed with optimistic bets.

Liquidation data from CoinGlass showed $646.5 million in forced closures across all assets in the last 24 hours. Long positions made up $492.6 million, or 76.2 %. Shorts absorbed just $154.4 million.

crypto liquidations
Screengrab showing the total crypto liquidations across assets in 24 hours on July 25, 2025 (Source: CoinGlass)

Bitcoin and Ethereum were hit almost equally, at $152 million apiece. Yet BTC’s own liquidation mix still leaned heavily to the long side, with $136.0 million in long wipeouts versus $16.1 million in shorts. Ethereum showed a slightly more balanced profile ($91.1 million longs against $61.5 million shorts), suggesting ETH bears were also caught fading previous strength.

Solana and XRP rounded out the top four, losing $39.2 million and $29.9 million in long exposure, respectively. Although their prices fell 2.5 % and rose 0.1 %, the absolute dollar value of wiped long leverage reveals that smaller‑cap majors still host meaningful directional bets.

Binance was at the center of this market-wide wipeout, logging $232.9 million in net liquidations, 75 % of which were longs. Bybit followed with $187.5 million and OKX with $108.1 million. The three venues accounted for roughly 80 % of total forced exits.

crypto liquidations exchanges
Table showing the total liquidations across exchanges in 24 hours on July 25, 2025 (Source: CoinGlass)

The heaviest pain came in a single four‑hour block where $201.8 million worth of positions were closed, $184.8 million of which were longs. A sharp, automated unwind of such size often exaggerates price moves in the moment, creating a cascade that feeds on itself until collateral buffers stabilise.

Despite the flush, Bitcoin seems to have stabilized at just above $115,000. This indicates that the spot market absorbed the BTC that hit the market once liquidations ran their course. Funding rates have also compressed toward neutral on major perpetual swaps, indicating that some of the overheated bullish leverage has reset.

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]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-liquidation-cascade-wipes-out-646-million-in-24-hours/feed/ 0 49572 End of the quarter wipes out billions from Bitcoin open interest https://earlybirdsinvest.com/end-of-the-quarter-wipes-out-billions-from-bitcoin-open-interest/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/end-of-the-quarter-wipes-out-billions-from-bitcoin-open-interest/#respond Wed, 02 Jul 2025 23:41:02 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/end-of-the-quarter-wipes-out-billions-from-bitcoin-open-interest/ Bitcoin’s derivatives market saw a quiet but meaningful repositioning in July, marked by two liquidation-driven drawdowns in futures and a record expiry event that wiped out over $15 billion in options open interest.

These changes took place alongside relatively muted price action, as Bitcoin hovered between $101,000 and $110,000 throughout June before stabilizing near $107,000 at the beginning of July.

While the reduction in futures and options OI might suggest waning investor interest, a closer look at the data indicates strategic de-risking and rotation into new quarterly positioning rather than outright bearish conviction.

Bitcoin futures open interest started June near $72.5 billion and peaked at $77.7 billion on June 10, right alongside Bitcoin’s monthly high of $110,200. This climb shows a short-lived increase in speculative exposure as traders positioned for further upside after the rally in May.

bitcoin futures open interest
Graph showing the open interest for Bitcoin futures from June 1 to July 2, 2025 (Source: CoinGlass)

However, optimism faded quickly, and the market experienced a sharp downside wick on June 15. This pushed Bitcoin below $104,000 in a matter of minutes, triggering a wave of long liquidations. Total futures OI plunged to $69.6 billion (a 10% drop in five days), while spot prices declined around 4%. This marked the first major deleveraging of the month and revealed the fragility of overextended long positions.

A similar pattern followed on June 23 as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East prompted risk-off flows. Bitcoin briefly dropped below $102,000, and futures OI fell again, this time from $72.9 billion to $68.3 billion. The reaction wasn’t as sharp as mid-month, but it showed how sensitive leveraged traders are to macro events. Binance’s share of open interest remained steady between $11.3 billion and $12.3 billion, implying that the largest swings came from offshore venues and CME.

binance futures open interest
Open interest for Bitcoin perpetual futures on Binance from June 1 to July 2 (Source: CoinGlass)

Even as prices recovered toward $107,000 by the end of the month, OI never returned to its early June highs. By July 2, total futures OI stood at $69.5 billion, down roughly 10% from the June peak. This drop in leverage despite price stability indicates we now have a structurally “cleaner” market that’s less prone to forced liquidation cascades.

In contrast to the zigzagging futures landscape, Bitcoin options open interest steadily climbed throughout most of June, rising from $38.2 billion on June 1 to a record $51.1 billion by June 27. This reflected an active environment for options structuring, driven in part by the quarterly expiry of Deribit and CME contracts scheduled for the last trading days of Q2.

bitcoin options open interest
Open interest for Bitcoin options from June 1 to July 2 (Source: CoinGlass)

On June 28, nearly 40% of all outstanding options contracts expired. Deribit alone saw 141,000 BTC in notional exposure roll off its books. Bitcoin’s options OI dropped from $51.1 billion to $35.2 billion in a single day, a 31% reduction. However, despite the scale of the expiry, Bitcoin’s price barely moved, holding steady around $107,300. This decoupling between notional and price reinforces the idea that this was a mechanical adjustment, not a directional event.

It was one of the cleanest quarterly expiries in a while. The low volatility surrounding the event suggested that most positioning had already been adjusted in advance, with limited need for dealers to aggressively hedge into expiry. Post-expiry, options OI rebounded slightly to $35.2 billion by July 2, indicating traders were in the early stages of repositioning for the third quarter.

June’s futures and options cleanup had a visible effect on market structure. Implied volatility remained relatively subdued, even as realized volatility edged lower. This trend, combined with a flattening CME futures basis, down from roughly 9.5% annualized on June 10 to around 6% by June 30, reflects a lower-risk profile in the derivatives market heading into the third quarter.

Much of this repricing appears driven by institutional flows. CME saw large futures rolls throughout the final week of June as traders shifted out of BTCM25 (June expiry) into BTCU25 (September expiry). Meanwhile, on Deribit, call-heavy positioning into late June was replaced by a more balanced skew, with an increase in open interest around $110,000-$120,000 strikes for July and September.

The result of this unwinding and expiry is a market better positioned for directional movement. Bitcoin has entered July with a spot price largely unchanged from mid-June but with far less derivative baggage. Futures OI is down more than $8 billion from the highs, while options OI is $16 billion below the June peak.

The lack of price impact during these drops, especially the massive June 28 options expiry, suggests that traders remain engaged but more disciplined. A lighter, more responsive market opens the door for sharper moves if we see other major catalysts in the third quarter. Whether that results in a breakout above the ATH or a return to volatility compression will depend on external triggers. But after a volatile June, the deck has been cleared for the next leg of the derivatives cycle.

The post End of the quarter wipes out billions from Bitcoin open interest appeared first on CryptoSlate.

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/end-of-the-quarter-wipes-out-billions-from-bitcoin-open-interest/feed/ 0 45427 Telegram Wipes Out $27 Billion Darknet Crypto Market in Major Takedown https://earlybirdsinvest.com/telegram-wipes-out-27-billion-darknet-crypto-market-in-major-takedown/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/telegram-wipes-out-27-billion-darknet-crypto-market-in-major-takedown/#respond Sun, 18 May 2025 12:36:08 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/telegram-wipes-out-27-billion-darknet-crypto-market-in-major-takedown/

Haowang Guarantee, formerly Huione Guarantee, has officially shut down after Telegram removed thousands of accounts connected to the platform.

According to Wired’s report on May 13, the messaging service blocked its groups, channels, and other content, which prompted the Chinese darknet marketplace to post a closure notice stating it would no longer operate.

Telegram explained that the accounts were linked to fraud and money laundering, activities that violate the app’s terms. A spokesperson said that groups reported in public investigations, including those from Wired and blockchain firm Elliptic, were taken down.

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Haowang Guarantee operated mainly in Chinese and served as a central place for crypto scams and other illegal services. According to Elliptic, it handled about $27 billion in questionable crypto transfers, which mostly used the stablecoin Tether
USDT


$0.9949

.

The marketplace offered services that supported laundering money, selling stolen identity information, providing deepfake tools and forged IDs, and selling equipment used in scam call centers across Southeast Asia.

Tom Robinson, a co-founder of Elliptic, said:

It’s a game-changer in terms of overall online criminal markets, and it’s huge for victims of online fraud.

He added that Haowang Guarantee made it easier for fraud to spread, and its closure may make it harder for scammers to continue their activities.

On May 13, Elliptic linked Xinbi Guarantee, a Telegram-based marketplace operated in Chinese, to over $8 billion in crypto transactions. What did the company say? Read the full story.

Aaron S. Editor-In-Chief

Having completed a Master’s degree in Economics, Politics, and Cultures of the East Asia region, Aaron has written scientific papers analyzing the differences between Western and Collective forms of capitalism in the post-World War II era.
With close to a decade of experience in the FinTech industry, Aaron understands all of the biggest issues and struggles that crypto enthusiasts face. He’s a passionate analyst who is concerned with data-driven and fact-based content, as well as that which speaks to both Web3 natives and industry newcomers.
Aaron is the go-to person for everything and anything related to digital currencies. With a huge passion for blockchain & Web3 education, Aaron strives to transform the space as we know it, and make it more approachable to complete beginners.
Aaron has been quoted by multiple established outlets, and is a published author himself. Even during his free time, he enjoys researching the market trends, and looking for the next supernova.

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/telegram-wipes-out-27-billion-darknet-crypto-market-in-major-takedown/feed/ 0 36920 Bitcoin’s spike above $93k wipes out shorts, $652M liquidated across the market https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoins-spike-above-93k-wipes-out-shorts-652m-liquidated-across-the-market/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoins-spike-above-93k-wipes-out-shorts-652m-liquidated-across-the-market/#respond Thu, 24 Apr 2025 01:21:31 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoins-spike-above-93k-wipes-out-shorts-652m-liquidated-across-the-market/ Bitcoin’s latest liquidation sweep erased $652.84 million across crypto on April 23, wiping out 172,948 traders. Bitcoin alone contributed $321.70 million, or roughly 50% of the total.

Exchange dashboards show shorts carried almost the entire weight: on Bybit, HTX, Gate.io, and CoinEx, more than 95% of BTC positions liquidated were shorts, and across the market, the ratio sat near 94.8%. Bybit led the tally with $163.92 million in BTC losses, followed by HTX at $50.87 million and Gate.io at $44 million, while Binance, OKX, and smaller venues filled out the rest.

bitcoin liquidations
Bitcoin liquidations across exchanges in the past 24 hours on April 23 (Source: CoinGlass)

The wipe-out unfolded after a sharp price rebound. Spot data place sBitcoin’s closing price on April 22 at $93,480 and today at $93,710, up almost 8% from Tuesday’s open of $87,511. The squeeze coincided with a sharp expansion in open interest: aggregate BTC OI climbed from $58.46 billion to $67.28 billion in 24 hours, a 15% jump that showed the inflow of fresh leverage.

An $8.8 billion burst of new contracts, many concentrated on perpetual venues, created a fertile backdrop for abrupt liquidations once the price pushed beyond $90,000.

bitcoin futures OI
Open interest for Bitcoin futures from April 1 to April 23 (Source: CoinGlass)

Macro news set the stage for the rally. The IMF cut its global growth outlook and warned of stickier inflation. Hours later, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at progress on trade talks with China, easing tariff angst and lifting risk appetite.

Meanwhile, a note from Standard Chartered flagged a twelve-year high in the US term premium and argued Bitcoin is undervalued versus emerging systemic risk, stoking demand for crypto as a policy hedge. Together with these headlines, the market drove a swift rotation out of bearish bets.

Why were shorts so exposed? Traders had been leaning into downside plays while open interest ballooned in the past month, with many positioning for softer prices on tariff volatility and higher real rates. When the macro tone flipped, thin liquidity between $90,000 and $94,000 accelerated the climb through stop zones, forcing automated liquidations.

The cascade bled into ETH, which lost $130.31 million, yet Bitcoin’s dominance shows that the bulk of speculative leverage had gravitated to BTC pairs. Bybit’s outsized share shows how different platforms shape liquidation flows. The exchange captured more than half of BTC losses, helped by its relatively low maintenance margin and popular inverse-perp contracts. HTX and Gate.io, with higher retail participation, saw double-digit shares as well. Meanwhile, Binance’s smaller slice, just under 9%, reflects stricter leverage rules in force since 2024.

The combination of such a high surge in open interest and sharply positive funding rates shows traders are crowding into leveraged longs rather than rebuilding exposure evenly. Volume and open-interest weighted funding rates on major platforms are now positive, so longs are paying an increasing carry to keep their positions. That premium signals a pronounced bullish tilt: if spot holds above $90,000, the positive carry could increase leverage. But if price stalls, high funding costs will push traders to cut size quickly, setting the stage for a long-side shake-out.

The post Bitcoin’s spike above $93k wipes out shorts, $652M liquidated across the market appeared first on CryptoSlate.

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoins-spike-above-93k-wipes-out-shorts-652m-liquidated-across-the-market/feed/ 0 32479 Bitcoin Plunges Below $84K after $115B Sell-Off Wipes Out Weekly Gains https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-plunges-below-84k-after-115b-sell-off-wipes-out-weekly-gains/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-plunges-below-84k-after-115b-sell-off-wipes-out-weekly-gains/#respond Sat, 29 Mar 2025 02:44:34 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-plunges-below-84k-after-115b-sell-off-wipes-out-weekly-gains/

Hopes for the crypto recovery to continue vanished on Friday, as a market-wide rout erased virtually all gains from earlier this week.

Bitcoin (BTC), hovering just below $88,000 a day ago, tumbled to $83,800 recently and is down 3.8% over the past 24 hours. The broad-market benchmark CoinDesk 20 Index declined 5.7%, with native cryptos Avalanche (AVAX), Polygon (POL), Near (NEAR), and Uniswap (UNI) all nursing almost 10% losses during the same period. Today’s sell-off wiped out $115 billion of the total market value of cryptocurrencies, TradingView data shows.

All assets in the CoinDesk 20 Index were lower in the past 24 hours. (CoinDesk Indices)

Ethereum’s ether (ETH) declined over 6% to extend its downtrend against BTC, falling to its weakest relative price to the largest cryptocurrency since May 2020. Underscoring the bearish trend, spot ETH exchange-traded funds failed to attract any net inflows since early March, while their BTC counterparts saw over $1 billion of inflows in the past two weeks, according to Farside Investors data.

The ugly crypto price action coincided with U.S. stocks selling off during the day on poor economic data, with the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index down 2% and 2.8%, respectively. Crypto-focused stocks also suffered heavy losses: Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate BTC holder, closed the day 10% lower, while crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) dropped 7.7%.

The February PCE inflation report, released this morning, showed a 2.5% year-over-year increase in the price index, with core inflation at 2.8%, slightly above expectations. Consumer spending showed a modest 0.4% rise, though inflation-adjusted figures indicate minimal growth, suggesting potential headwinds for economic growth. The Federal Reserve of Atlanta’s GDPNow model now projects the U.S. economy to contract 2.8% in the first quarter, 0.5% adjusted for gold imports and exports, spurring stagflationary fears.

The implementation of broad-scale U.S. tariffs next week—the so-called “Liberation Day’ on April 2, as the Trump administration refers to—also compounded investor concerns across markets.

CME gapfill or another leg lower?

Bitcoin has closely correlated with the Nasdaq lately, so U.S. equities rolling over for another leg down could weigh on the broader crypto market. However, on a more optimistic note, today’s decline could be BTC filling the price gap at around $84,000-$85,000 between Monday’s open and the previous week’s close on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange futures market. Historically, BTC usually revisited similar CME gaps and a drop to $84,000 was in the cards, CoinDesk senior analyst James Van Straten noted earlier this week.

Read more: Bitcoin’s Weekend Surge Forms Another CME Gap, Signaling Possible Drop Back

“At this stage it’s difficult to determine if we have already seen a bottom in 2025,” Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group, said in a market note. Despite the on-going correction, he noted several positive trends such as crypto-friendly policies in the U.S. and more traditional financial firms entering the industry or expanding crypto offerings, which could bode well for digital assets later in the year.

“Any additional setbacks that we might see should be exceptionally well supported into the $70-75k area,” he added.

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