Traders speculate on hidden hand behind BTC plunge, not just macro factors

Traders are increasingly speculating that the recent Bitcoin plunge was not solely due to macroeconomic factors but was driven by a hidden hand, CoinDesk reported. The main theories circulating are as follows: - A massive sell-off by a hidden hand: This theory suggests a specific country, such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Russia, or China, could have dumped over $10 billion in BTC, or an exchange on the brink of bankruptcy may have been forced to liquidate its holdings. - Failure of a yen carry trade by Asia-based traders: It is possible that a large, non-crypto Asian firm engaged in leveraged market making on Binance was directly impacted by the unwinding of the yen carry trade. - Forced liquidation of BlackRock's IBIT options: IBIT recorded its highest-ever trading volume ($10.7 billion) and options premium ($900 million). This pattern more closely resembles a large-scale forced liquidation of options positions rather than typical deleveraging. - A dump by Hong Kong hedge funds: This theory posits that Hong Kong-based hedge funds, which had borrowed yen for high-leverage bets on IBIT options, were forced to sell their BTC holdings after facing rising yen funding costs and consecutive losses in silver trading.