In a recent series of events, bitcoin (BTC) has experienced a brief period of intense volatility due to unverified information circulating on social media. The incident shows how disinformation can affect investor sentiment.
In a tweet, Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) reports from sources that a large explosion has occurred near the Pentagon complex in Washington DC. The news quickly spread across social media, sparking a wave of reaction in the crypto market. Investors, fearing possible geopolitical instability, reacted quickly, resulting in great volatility.
Confusion and uncertainty among bitcoin investors
However, the tweet on which these claims were based was later deleted, with Walter Bloomberg stating, “The Twitter account that reported explosion near the Pentagon has deleted the tweet.”
Twitter account that reported about explosion near the Pentagon has deleted the tweet https://t.co/lP2HvLh6Sf
— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) May 22, 2023
Crypto analyst KALEO (@CryptoKaleo) showed the effect on the market using a bitcoin graph. He tweeted, “An AI image of an explosion near the Pentagon caused a brisk sell-off in the market for a few minutes before being debunked and removed.”
In the aftermath of the incident, the market has begun to stabilize, with many investors viewing the dip as a buying opportunity. As KALEO put it: “Run it back.”
An AI image of an explosion near the Pentagon caused the market to sell off violently for a few minutes before it was debunked and removed.
Run it back. pic.twitter.com/xP82HCBmys
— KALEO (@CryptoKaleo) May 22, 2023
Bitcoin price stabilizes
All in all, bitcoin initially fell to a low of $26,700 in response to the news. After it turned out to be wrong, bitcoin quickly rose in value by 1.5%. However, at the time of writing, BTC is falling back towards its pre-event price level in what appears to be further stabilization.
Bitcoin currently stands at a price of $26,888 on crypto exchange Coinbase. On the Dutch crypto exchange Bitvavo, the bitcoin euro price is 24,870.
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