A recent analysis suggests that Bitcoin failed to reach $100,000 during the 2021 bull market due to selling pressure from the defunct exchange FTX. Joe Burnett, senior product marketing manager at Bitcoin financial services firm Unchained, joined others in claiming that FTX executives intentionally suppressed the price of Bitcoin.
As the trial of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, continues, new testimony has revealed a possible case of market manipulation. Caroline Ellison, former CEO of affiliated firm Alameda Research, testified that Bankman-Fried asked her to sell BTC if the spot price exceeded $20,000. These sales were made using FTX customer funds, a practice that was unauthorized.
Burnett suggested that the scale of these operations may have adversely affected the entire Bitcoin bull run. He claimed that Alameda Research was insolvent even during the bull market and used FTX customer assets to buy other cryptocurrencies. Without this selling pressure, Bitcoin may have reached $100,000 in 2021.
Although Bitcoin did not reach those levels, the Stock-to-Flow (S2F) Bitcoin price model predicted a price target of up to $288,000 during the halving cycle. However, even the creator of this model, known as PlanB, faced public criticism when Bitcoin did not meet these expectations.
The ongoing SBF debacle has become a subject of amusement on social media. Many are jokingly imagining a different timeline where SBF becomes the president of the United States, Bitcoin hits $100,000, FTX token surpasses Bitcoin’s value, meat becomes illegal, the US annexes the Bahamas, and women above a certain rating get deported.
While some disagree with Bankman-Fried’s motives, others question whether he was genuinely trying to stifle market growth. Adam Back, CEO and co-founder of Blockstream, suggested that Bankman-Fried may have been seeking USD liquidity by selling BTC above $20,000, rather than intentionally keeping the price below that level.
It is important to note that this article does not provide investment advice. Readers should conduct their own research and exercise caution when making investment and trading decisions.
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