The price of Bitget’s BGB token unexpectedly dropped by 50% on the morning of October 7 before beginning to recover.
The platform has announced that it will compensate users for any losses resulting from the sudden volatility, which is still under investigation.
Exchange Promises Full Compensation
According to CoinGecko data, the incident saw the token’s value fall from $1.14 to $0.64 before staging a quick recovery. In a post on X, Bitget addressed the situation, saying, “BGB experienced unexpected volatility today due to market conditions, but the price has quickly stabilized.”
The platform reassured its users, promising to fully compensate for any asset losses. It also announced that a detailed compensation plan would be released within 24 hours, with the entire process set to be completed within 72 hours.
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen reiterated this message in a separate X post:
“The incident is still under investigation, but I want to assure everyone affected that we will not let any Bitget users suffer losses.”
Chen emphasized that Bitget’s overall standing remains strong, noting that the platform achieved a global market share of 11% in the third quarter of 2024, making it the fourth-largest exchange globally. Additionally, it boasts an asset reserve exceeding 176% and holds the second-largest protection fund globally, which is designed to compensate users quickly in the event of such incidents.
The Nature of Flash Crashes
Meanwhile, this incident mirrors a past development that occurred earlier this year with OKB, the native cryptocurrency of the OKX exchange. The token faced sudden price collapses, falling from a high of $48 to $25 within hours. The event was reportedly triggered by several large leveraged position liquidations, leading to further sell-offs and price declines.
At the time, OKX responded by reassuring its users that it would compensate them for the losses incurred from the unusual liquidation. While OKB’s crashes were linked to market-wide volatility, Bitget has yet to pinpoint the exact cause behind today’s event.
A cryptocurrency “flash crash” occurs when several holders rapidly sell a specific crypto asset, surpassing buyer demand and causing the price to drop sharply in a short amount of time. Unlike a typical collapse, the price usually recovers quickly, often returning to a level close to where it started.
