More Action Ahead? Bitfinex Goes Offline For 7 Hours At 8 AM UTC

Bitcoin continues to surge, gaining upwards of 12.7% in the last 24 hours alone. The cryptocurrency has pinned all the attention on itself as it currently sits on a market cap of more than $227 billion. Now, one of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency exchanges, Bitfinex, is going offline for seven-hour long maintenance. Can this be indicative of more action?

Bitfinex Will Be Offline For Up to 7 Hours 

According to an official release, popular cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, as well as associated Ethfinex, will be offline for up to seven hours today, June 26th, starting at 8 AM UTC. The intention behind the scheduled maintenance is to commence a platform upgrade which is “designed to enhance the stability and scalability of the iFinex matching engine.”

On June 26, Bitfinex will be offline for up to seven hours as we conduct a comprehensive platform upgrade for continued exchange innovation and scalability.

Read the full details here: https://t.co/TKQkDylt53 pic.twitter.com/jQFVwyWvbh

— Bitfinex (@bitfinex) June 20, 2019

Throughout the entire period, traders on those platforms won’t be able to trade, view, or to access their wallets. 

Interestingly enough, the publication also reads that the upgrade will lay the foundation for the launch of derivatives trading on Bitfinex. So perhaps Bitfinex really is following in the footsteps of BitMex. 

According to the release, no orders will be executed during that time and that users won’t be liquidated during the downtime. However, if the price moves violently during the time, traders are at risk of liquidation as soon as the platform reopens. 

Can This Mean More Action For Bitcoin?

As Cryptopotato reported in the past, scheduled maintenance of major cryptocurrency exchanges is an excellent opportunity for Bitcoin price manipulation by whales. That’s why traders want to stay in control and make sure that they are taking precautions to prevent their positions being liquidated as soon as Bitfinex comes back up again. 

This is especially true now that Bitcoin is moving so quickly. The cryptocurrency just hit $13,000, marking its fresh 2019 high. 

Ever since Bitcoin breached the $8,000 resistance there hasn’t been much of a correction in its price. What is more, if we rewind back to the bull run back in 2017, we can see that the pattern is almost identical. 

That’s why traders should be even more careful when there are such long maintenance downtimes designated for major updates on popular cryptocurrency exchanges. 

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