Binance BTC/USD1 Flash Crash to $24,000 and Seconds Rebound: What Exactly Happened?

Last night/today, you might have seen a screenshot of “BTC dropping to 24,000”: a needle directly inserted into the floor, then in the next moment bouncing back to over 80,000. Let’s put the conclusion upfront: this is not a market-wide collapse of Bitcoin, but rather an extreme “flash wick” in a relatively obscure trading pair on Binance, BTC/USD1. It resembles more of a liquidity incident—but for some traders, it could still be a “real loss” event.

In this episode, we will explain thoroughly: why did such an absurd price of 24,000 appear? Why did it only happen in BTC/USD1? Who might be hurt? How should ordinary traders protect themselves?

1. First, understand: why does the “price” you see not equal the overall market price?

The candlesticks on trading software usually show the last traded price (Last Price) of a specific trading pair. And the “overall BTC market price” is closer to:

• The composite quotes of mainstream trading pairs (BTC/USDT, BTC/USDC, etc.)
• Or the internal exchange risk control index/mark price (Index / Mark Price)

Therefore, a common phenomenon occurs: A certain trading pair’s “last traded price” briefly drops very low (forming a long lower shadow), but the entire market does not follow downward.

The core feature of this extreme wick is:

• Occurs in BTC/USD1
• Lasts for a very short time (second-level)
• Mainstream trading pairs do not show the same magnitude of decline simultaneously

2. What is USD1? Why is its trading pair more prone to “glitches”?

USD1 is a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, part of a relatively “new” stablecoin ecosystem. The key point is: the spot trading pairs of new stablecoins often have fewer market makers, thinner order books, and larger bid-ask spreads.

Think of it as:

BTC/USDT is like a “highway” BTC/USD1 might still be in the “road construction phase,” with fewer cars, narrower roads, and incomplete guardrails.

In such a state, a seemingly small market order or liquidation order can “sweep through” the order book, causing the transaction price to temporarily jump to an extreme position.

3. The most likely mechanism: thin order book + market/liquidation order = “one step off the cliff”

Using the most straightforward “order book” explanation:

Step 1: The order book is very thin (not enough depth)

For BTC/USD1, the buy orders might be distributed like this (example):

87,500: buy 0.3 BTC 87,000: buy 0.5 BTC 86,000: buy 0.8 BTC … (middle orders are sparse) 30,000: buy 0.01 BTC 24,000: buy 0.02 BTC (someone placed an absurd “snatch-up” order)

When the market is normal, these “deep snatch-up orders” will never be executed.

Step 2: An order that “must be sold immediately” appears

It may come from three sources (not mutually exclusive):

• Large market sell order (slip, strategy mistake, bot anomaly)
• Market order triggered by stop-loss (chain reaction)
• Liquidation of leveraged positions (liquidation orders are usually more “urgent”)

The common point of these orders: they don’t care about the price, only about immediate execution.

Step 3: Sweeping through the buy orders, the transaction price “jumps” downward

When the sell order volume exceeds the total of the buy orders at the above levels, it will eat through the buy orders layer by layer. If the buy orders in between are sparse, the “trade price” may directly jump to a much lower level—so you see a ridiculous print like $24,111.

Step 4: Arbitrage bots/market makers pull the price back to the “real range”

Once an extreme deviation occurs, arbitrageurs will quickly intervene:

• Buy BTC at the low price in BTC/USD1
• Simultaneously sell or hedge in deeper markets like BTC/USDT
• Until the spread returns to normal

Therefore, you see: the wick happens very quickly, and it recovers just as fast.

4. Why only in BTC/USD1? The key is “road conditions,” not “direction”

You can think of this event as a “partial road collapse,” not a “global sinking of the earth.”

The same sell order, if placed in BTC/USDT:

• Has a deep, dense order book
• Many market makers, small spread
• Price moves only slightly

But placed in BTC/USD1:

• Thin depth, sparse buy orders
• Few market makers, may withdraw orders during volatility
• Sweeps through easily, directly hitting a deep level

This also explains why many “flash crashes and wick insertions” tend to occur more often in:

• New trading pairs
• Obscure stablecoin trading pairs
• Non-mainstream quote currencies
• Holidays/night hours with low liquidity

5. Who really gets hurt? “Seeing a wick” does not mean “getting a bargain”

The cruelest part of these events is: They may only execute a very small amount, but for some people, it can be a real loss.

The three most vulnerable groups:

• Traders leveraged long in BTC/USD1: liquidation triggers regardless of whether you are distressed; once the order book is pierced, you may be liquidated
• People with stop-loss/stop-profit prices tied to Last Price: when the wick hits, stop-loss triggers, market sells at a poor price
• Those using bots to “automatically route to the best price” but mistakenly choose obscure trading pairs: think it’s “cheaper,” but in reality, they are trading in “thinner order books”

As for the lucky ones who “snatch” 24,000 BTC: It exists theoretically, but usually requires simultaneously meeting conditions like placing a low bid + wick hitting your level + no system risk control cancellation/rollback + being able to hedge/sell promptly. In reality, this is rare.

6. How can ordinary people protect themselves? Here is a “flash crash injury prevention checklist”

6.1 Avoid margin trading on obscure trading pairs

If you trade with leverage or large amounts, try to choose:

• Mainstream trading pairs with better depth (BTC/USDT, BTC/USDC, etc.)
• Obscure stablecoin pairs for “small trial,” not for “heavy positions with high leverage.”

6.2 Avoid market orders if possible

Especially during low liquidity periods (late night, holidays), avoid market orders. Use limit orders with sufficient range and patience.

6.3 Prefer to use “mark price/index price” for stop-loss triggers (if supported by the platform)

Many exchanges offer:

• Trigger price: Last / Mark / Index
• Prefer to use Mark/Index for risk triggers to reduce being misled by “final traded price” during a wick.

6.4 Check the order book before trading

Even if you don’t understand depth charts, you can look at three indicators:

• Spread size
• Quantity of orders at the top levels
• Recent trading volume

Large spread, sparse orders, cold trading—avoid making big moves on this trading pair.

6.5 Money management: don’t let “single trading pair incidents” ruin your whole year

Treat it as a reminder: The crypto market is not only about trend risk but also “market structure risk.”

Conclusion: The true significance of this wick

This “24,000 wick” in BTC/USD1 is more like a typical microstructure event: In specific trading pairs, at specific times, under certain depth conditions, an order forced to execute swept through the order book.

It does not mean Bitcoin is going to zero, but it reminds you of an even more important point:

In the crypto market, what determines your profit and loss is sometimes not the trend, but the “road” you choose to drive on.