On Tuesday, a sudden and sharp drop in several cryptocurrency token prices on Binance sparked confusion, with some traders speculating that a misconfigured trading bot might be the cause. Act I, the Prophecy (ACT) saw a dramatic 50% plunge, DeXe (DEXE) dropped 30%, and dForce (DF) fell nearly 20%, all within just 30 minutes after 10:31 UTC, as shown by Binance’s data. There was no clear reason behind the sudden price movements, leading many to question whether a bot error played a role in the market shake-up.

The crash resulted in massive liquidations, with $6.28 million worth of long positions on ACT-tracked futures wiped out, and one trader incurring a $3.2 million liquidation, according to Coinglass data. The price declines continued as the day progressed, with ACT/USDT plummeting more than 49%, DEXE/USDT seeing a 23% drop, and DF/USDT losing over 16%, all within a 30-minute window. At the same time, other altcoins, including HIPPO, BANANA31, and LUMIA, experienced similar but smaller drops.

A surge in selling volume across these tokens around the same time raised suspicion of coordinated trades or a malfunctioning bot, though these tokens were not related or part of the same sector. The volatility appeared to be triggered by an announcement from Binance at 10:30 UTC, which introduced changes to leverage requirements and margin tiers for perpetual contracts, including those for ACT/USDT. These adjustments likely prompted trading bots to recalibrate their positions, which triggered price volatility in perpetual contracts and spilled over into spot markets, causing additional sell-offs.

The market turbulence spread to other exchanges, with the affected tokens experiencing similar declines on both centralized and decentralized platforms. On social media, speculation centered on the possibility of a misconfigured market-making bot, with some traders suggesting that the sudden declines might have been triggered by automated trading strategies reacting to Binance’s new margin rules. However, as of writing, CoinDesk could not confirm these allegations.

Traders were quick to note that the adjustments in leverage and margin requirements could have forced traders to liquidate positions, adding to the panic that spread through the market.