Company behind AI trade that caused $60 million crypto liquidations to cover all losses

Markets Company behind AI trade that caused $60 million crypto liquidations to cover all losses The mark price fell 19% on a single pre-market trade in Korea. The company says its oracle worked exactly as designed. By Shaurya Malwa Updated Jul 29, 2026, 6:40 a.m. Published Jul 29, 2026, 6:03 a.m. 2 min read Make preferred on Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Make preferred on Company behind AI trade that caused $60 million crypto liquidations to cover all losses (Christian Dubovan/Unsplash) Summary Show Trade.xyz will reimburse traders whose positions were liquidated after its SK Hynix perpetual futures contract suddenly dropped 19% on Monday, a move the exchange attributes to a single trade on a thin Korean pre-market venue. The company said its price oracle functioned as designed by relaying a real but outsized trade that sharply moved the mark price, and emphasized that the decision to cover losses is a one-time, discretionary action with eligibility rules to come. In response, Trade.xyz plans to reassess how it sources prices, giving more weight to its own order books, as research shows crypto perpetuals can lead spot markets and even price events like SpaceX’s IPO more accurately than traditional bookbuilding. Decentralized perpetuals exchange Trade.xyz said it will reimburse traders liquidated when its SK Hynix perpetual futures contract crashed 19% late on Monday, a loss the company attributes to a single executed trade on a thin Korean pre-market venue rather than any failure in its systems. The mark price, the reference figure used to calculate profits, losses and liquidations, fell from about $1,128 to $917 at 23:01 UTC on July 27, according to the company. The print came from an executed trade relayed by multiple independent data providers, and the data point feeding the contract was tracking what Trade.xyz called the primary Korean pre-market venue. “The oracle system worked as intended according to its specification,” the company said. Nothing malfunctioned and nobody manipulated anything, on the evidence so far. The oracle, a tool that fetches data from outside points to within a blockchain-based system, faithfully reported a real trade on a market thin enough that one order moved the price nearly a fifth, and the contract liquidated positions accordingly. Trade.xyz said covering the losses is a one-time discretionary decision rather than a commitment to do so again, with eligibility rules to follow and payouts expected within days. The remedy it outlined is the more consequential part. The company said it is revisiting its assumptions about external venues and will weigh price formation on its own orderbooks, “which carry increasingly meaningful depth and signal in relation to external sources.” Research into crypto market structure has found the same pattern in bitcoin and ether, where perpetual futures often lead spot rather than follow it, and pre-IPO perpetuals priced SpaceX’s first trading day more accurately than the bookbuild that set the offering. The crash printed hours before Korean equities began a record two-day decline, and SK Hynix shares fell about 17% on Wednesday after quarterly profit rose 557% and still missed estimates. Latest Crypto News 1 Live updates: Bitcoin clears $64,000 in Asia hours ahead of Fed decision 1 hour ago 2 Citadel bets on a Fed rate hike Wednesday as bitcoin analysts call a hold. Someone will be wrong. 2 hours ago 3 Bitcoin rises toward $64,000 as Korea's record chip crash leaves crypto untouched 2 hours ago 4 Coinbase wants to be Canada’s ‘everything exchange,’ but says clearer rules are needed first 8 hours ago 5 'Anything remotely dovish' from Fed could be good for bitcoin, says analyst 11 hours ago 6 Ondo drops tokenized asset blockchain plans for private, high-speed trading network 12 hours ago 7 Wall Street veteran Don Wilson says regulators are getting perps all wrong 14 hours ago 8 BlackRock, Fidelity, other Wall Street giants back the Clarity Act 15 hours ago 9 Ethereum startup EthSystems bets privacy is key to getting banks on public blockchains 16 hours ago 10 Russia outlines new digital depository rules ahead of fall crypto framework roll-out 17 hours ago Latest Research Crypto Flows, Share and the Selective Rotation Crypto Flows, Share and the Selective Rotation Markets repositioned since June, but Binance held share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and drew net inflows in early July while the tracked market saw outflows. By CoinDesk Research Jul 22, 2026 Markets repositioned since June, but Binance held share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and drew net inflows in early July while the tracked market saw outflows. Why it matters: Markets repositioned since June, but Binance held share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and drew net inflows in early July while the tracked market saw outflows. View Full Report More From Markets Citadel bets on a Fed rate hike Wednesday as bitcoin analysts call a ho