Bitcoin briefly crashes below $48,000 on upstart exchange despite crypto rally

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Bitcoin briefly crashes below $48,000 on upstart exchange despite crypto rally A single large sell order triggered a 30% flash crash on decentralized perp exchange Lighter even as bitcoin was climbing elsewhere. By Krisztian Sandor | Edited by Oliver Knight Feb 26, 2026, 4:08 p.m. Make us preferred on Google (Nordseher/Pixabay) What to know : Bitcoin briefly plunged to $48,000 on decentralized exchange Lighter, even as it rallied above $69,000 on major venues. A single 1,000 BTC sell order overwhelmed thin liquidity, triggering a rapid 30% flash crash. Lighter’s trading volumes have fallen sharply since its token airdrop, leaving order books thinner and more vulnerable to price shocks. While the broader crypto market was ripping higher on Wednesday, bitcoin BTC $ 68,056.93 briefly plunged 30% to below $48,000 on decentralized perpetuals exchange Lighter in a violent move that lasted seconds. The flash crash stood in sharp contrast to price action elsewhere. During the same session, bitcoin surged from below $64,000 to above $69,000, marking one of its strongest intraday rallies in weeks. Bitcoin wicked down by 30% to 47.6K on Lighter 20 minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/eRmQf5fvdq — MLM (@mlmabc) February 25, 2026 The extreme move appeared to have been isolated to Lighter, where thin liquidity amplified what would otherwise have been a routine trade. In shallow order books, even modest sell pressure can trigger exaggerated price swings, producing so-called flash crashes that don’t reflect the broader market. That's likely what happened on Lighter. A single sell order of roughly 1,000 bitcoin — worth about $67 million at the time — wiped out available bids and briefly sent prices spiraling, according to a Discord post by pseudonymous Web3 developer 0xTimberJ. "Because Lighter is a newer DEX with less liquidity than centralized exchanges, the sell order wiped out all available bids and pushed the price down to ~$47k before recovering instantly," 0xTimberJ wrote. Lighter is an up-and-coming decentralized perpetuals exchange seeking to challenge category leader Hyperliquid. Perpetual futures, or "perps," have become crypto's dominant derivatives product, allowing traders to use leverage and take long or short positions around the clock without contract expirations. The platform briefly captured significant market share last November, processing over $292 billion in monthly volume — roughly a quarter of the $1.15 trillion traded across exchanges, according to data by The Block. But activity has cooled sharply since its token airdrop late last year. Traders who ramped up activity to farm rewards have since rotated out, and monthly volume fell to $70 billion in February out of a $500 billion total market, trailing rivals such as Hyperliquid, Aster and EdgeX. Bitcoin News market analysis perpetual contracts Decentralized exchange More For You Bitcoin falls back below $67,000, rapidly giving back Wednesday's gains By Stephen Alpher 32 minutes ago The declines are coming as the Nasdaq tumbles nearly 2%, led by a post-earnings selloff in Nvidia. What to know : Bitcoin has given back much of Wednesday's advance in morning U.S. trade. The declines are coming alongside a 2% drop in the Nasdaq following Nvidia earnings. Notably outperforming in crypto is Circle Financial (CRCL), now higher by about 40% since its earnings report on Wednesday morning. Read full story Latest Crypto News Crypto for Advisors: Crypto’s fixture in 401(k) plans 10 minutes ago Bitcoin falls back below $67,000, rapidly giving back Wednesday's gains 32 minutes ago The Protocol: Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT alleges Axiom employee conducted insider trading 35 minutes ago Senate hearing for U.S. bank regulators thrusts crypto into starring role 48 minutes ago A former Solana exec is taking a page out of Wall Street playbook to make global crypto trades faster 1 hour ago Crypto investigator ZachXBT alleges trading platform Axiom's employee conducted insider trading 1 hour ago Top Stories MetaMask expands debit card across U.S. after year-long pilot 2 hours ago Indiana prepares to put bitcoin in its public retirement plans 3 hours ago Was Jane Street behind the bitcoin crash? A deep dive into why that theory may not not hold 6 hours ago Bitcoin's bounce fails to convince options traders 3 hours ago Trump family-linked American Bitcoin posts $59 million Q4 loss as bitcoin price slides 3 hours ago STS Digital raises $30 million to expand crypto options platform 3 hours ago In this article BTC BTC $ 68,056.93 ◢ 3.83 %