BTC Spikes to $6800, BitMEX Down for Maintenance

Bitcoin has stormed out of its week-long consolidation in truly dramatic fashion, yet the timing of the monster $5 billion buy rally has prompted a torrent of accusations from BitMEX users - seeming to coincide perfectly with the exchange's scheduled downtime.

Bitcoin bulls seemed to come out guns blazing in one of the largest buy frenzies in weeks; pushing the coin up to $6800 - a near-6% spike in an hour.

At time of press, Bitcoin market capitalization stands $5.2 billion higher than prior to the rally; however bears appear to be regaining strength as Bitcoin returns to below the $6700-mark.

Occurring between 01:00-02:00 UTC, the rally appears to have overlapped precisely with the scheduled downtime of BitMEX - the world's largest BTC/USD exchange by daily volume.

Is it a coincidence Bitmex is down for maintenance and we get a pump?

Despite a stream of positive regulatory developments and corporate sponsorship in the cryptocurrency space, a number of industry leaders have called for lower lows - including BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes' prediction of a $3-5k bottom.

Just get the exchange with the most trading volume to go down for maintenance.

Although Bitcoin is a relatively young asset, the market has recorded a number of textbook short squeezes in its brief trading history - perhaps most recently mid-April's $16 billion pump.

The latest squeeze has been met with a chorus of newfound disdain by liquidated investors, who claim bulls unfairly took advantage of BitMEX's maintenance - with traders unable to alter positions during the one-hour window.

As an outspoken commentator on the price of Bitcoin, BitMEX's Arthur Hayes may have pushed exchanges into the same spotlight of heavy scrutiny as Lee.Cover Photo by Kasper Rasmussen on Unsplash.