i've always despised #bitcoin
but i understand the *concept* of starry eyed #techbros being into #crypto in the 2010s, when it was new and non-bitcoin projects like #ethereum were taking off. i don't buy the #hype, but some did
but now?
they left it, right?
they see it is, and always was, just #degenerates being milked by #whales via #marketManipulation
it's a tax on #stupidity
who is still doing crypto?
oh right: #criminals and #plutocrats and a #cult of #financial patsies
On April 17, nearly $2 billion in Brent, WTI, gasoil & #gasoline #futures were sold at 1224-1225 GMT, MINUTES before Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said #Hormuz would reopen, followed by multiple social media posts by #Trump & #US officials. On April 21, some $830 million worth of Brent & WTI contracts were sold just 15 minutes before Trump extended the ceasefire.
#MarketManipulation #corruption #government #CFTC #SEC #law #TrumpsWar #IranWar #Iran #war #oil
Trump's March 23 ceasefire announcement triggered a decline in crude futures of as much as 15%, one of the largest intraday drops on record. The announcement also sent #gasoline & gasoil #futures down around 12%.
On April 7, sell orders on #oil & gasoline prices worth $2.12 billion took place between 1944 & 1945 GMT, well after the market settled, a time when volumes are usually thin. MINUTES later, #Trump announced a 2-week ceasefire with #Iran.
The selling was spread across the first, second & third month contracts, worth some $1.35 billion, plus an additional $122 million in ICE gasoil - diesel - futures, & $81 million in US gasoline futures, all worth a total $2.2 billion.
"Those quantities are not going to escape scrutiny," said Robert Frenchman, a lawyer at Dynamis LLP in NY, who has previously worked on white-collar #crime & #InsiderTrading cases.
#Trump #MarketManipulation #corruption #government #law #IranWar #US #Iran #oil
"Let's stay with the facts. The volumes were highly unusual. They were concentrated. They were ahead of key announcements," said Jorge Montepeque from Onyx Capital Group, who helped design the system of setting #oil prices at Platts in the 1990s.
…On March 23, #Trump announced a delay to threatened attacks on Iranian power infrastructure at 1105 GMT. LSEG data shows that between 1049 & 1050 GMT that day, traders placed bets on 20k lots of Brent & WTI futures.
The trades look "well informed" as they preceded major announcements, said Adi Imsirovic, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (#CSIS), & a veteran #oil trader. #US authorities, such as the #CFTC, can access #exchange data to trace who placed the trades & investigate if it decides to, he added.
The CFTC’s enforcement director said in March the agency was aware of speculation regarding #InsiderTrading in CFTC-regulated #markets & was “watching”.
A sell bet - or #ShortSelling - means the person executing the #trade borrows the derivative from a counterparty, sells it & later buys it back more cheaply when the price falls, keeping the remaining cash as profit.
On March 23 & on April 7, 17 & 21, #oil prices plunged by over 10%. Reuters calculations show that a short seller with $7 billion could have made hundreds of millions of dollars in profits, depending on the timing of the bets.
…However, a further analysis of #trading data across exchanges & contracts showed traders executed similar bets at exactly the same dates & times for European #diesel & #US #gasoline #futures as well as longer-dated contracts for Brent & WTI, bringing the total to around $7 billion, based on Reuters calculations.
#Trump #MarketManipulation #corruption #securities #finance #economy #government #CFTC #SEC #law #TrumpsWar #IranWar #US #Iran #war #oil
Reuters & other media reported those trades on the most actively traded front-month contracts for the 2 global crude benchmarks, Brent & West Texas Intermediate . The value of those bets on those 4 days in March & April stood at around $2.6 billion, acc/to Reuters initial calculations.
The #DOJ & #CFTC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
#Trump #MarketManipulation #corruption #securities #finance #economy #government #SEC #law #TrumpsWar #IranWar #US #Iran #war #oil
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