Bitcoin News Today: Binance Faces Manipulation Claims as $19B Vanishes in Crypto Chaos

Meta's Financial AI unit has launched an investigation into a historic Bitcoin liquidation event on Binance, which saw over $19 billion in leveraged positions wiped out in a single day, marking one of the largest crashes in crypto history. The sell-off, triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's 100% tariff threat on Chinese imports, exposed vulnerabilities in both market infrastructure and regulatory oversight, with allegations of manipulation adding to the chaos .

The crash unfolded as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) plummeted, with BTC falling below $110,000 and ETH sliding 11.91%. Over $19.3 billion in long positions were liquidated within 24 hours, according to CoinGlass, while exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, and Robinhood struggled with outages and delayed orders . The total crypto market cap contracted to $3.87 trillion, with retail traders bearing the brunt of the losses. Short-term holders offloaded 79,300 BTC-worth $7 billion-to exchanges, signaling panic selling .

The event reignited debates over market manipulation, with critics pointing to Binance's alleged coordination with market maker Wintermute. On-chain data revealed Binance transferring large volumes of BTC, ETH, and SOL to Wintermute-controlled wallets ahead of the crash, fueling claims of orchestrated liquidations . Crypto analyst MartyParty accused the exchange of suppressing Solana's price through long-term collusion, while others noted discrepancies in price gaps between Binance and other platforms . Binance CEO Richard Teng denied wrongdoing, attributing the outages to "heavy market activity," but the exchange announced compensation for users who incurred losses due to platform issues .

Macroeconomic pressures exacerbated the turmoil. Trump's trade rhetoric, combined with a U.S. government shutdown delaying key economic data, left markets navigating uncertainty. The Federal Reserve's recent rate decisions and potential September rate cuts became focal points for traders seeking stability . Meanwhile, institutional investors remained relatively unscathed, with long-term holders avoiding mass selling and spot ETFs seeing continued inflows despite the downturn .

The crash also exposed fragility in crypto infrastructure. Binance's systems froze, preventing traders from executing stop-loss orders, while stablecoins like USDe temporarily depegged, amplifying liquidation cascades . Critics called for regulatory intervention, with some urging a shift to decentralized exchanges (DEXs) to avoid centralized control. Hyperliquid, a DEX, saw explosive growth in trading volume as traders fled CEXes .

As the market stabilizes, Bitcoin tests critical support at $109,000-a level that, if held, could signal a rebound. However, the episode underscores the sector's susceptibility to geopolitical shocks and opaque trading practices. With investigations into Binance and Wintermute underway and regulatory scrutiny intensifying, the path to recovery may hinge on restoring trust in market integrity .

Source: [1] Crypto Price Drop Continues: $16B in Longs Liquidated as BTC, ... (https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/10/10/usd16b-in-longs-liquidated-as-wall-street-sell-off-extends-btc-eth-broader-crypto-market-meltdown)

[2] Bitcoin Investors Hit Panic Button, Unleash 2025's ... - Stocktwits (https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/cryptocurrency/bitcoin-largest-sell-off-2025-7-billion-dollars/chdJXPFRUp)

[4] "Unraveling the Crypto Crash: Manipulation or Pure Panic?" (https://investx.fr/en/crypto-news/decoding-the-crypto-market-crash-manipulation-or-genuine-panic/)

[6] Binance to compensate users after technical snag during $19B ... (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/binance-compensate-users-technical-snag-161522868.html)

[7] Binance Faces Shocking Manipulation Claims After Crypto Crash (https://beincrypto.com/binance-freeze-accusations-during-crypto-crash/)

[10] Why did crypto crash? On-chain data linking Binance ... (https://coinedition.com/bitcoin-crash-binance-wintermute-on-chain-data/)