{"id":61319,"date":"2022-05-12T09:07:47","date_gmt":"2022-05-12T06:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=61319"},"modified":"2025-09-05T11:29:45","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T08:29:45","slug":"blackrock-and-citadel-deny-involvement-in-ust-crash-as-luna-slumps-to-0-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/blackrock-and-citadel-deny-involvement-in-ust-crash-as-luna-slumps-to-0-01\/","title":{"rendered":"BlackRock and Citadel deny involvement in UST crash as LUNA slumps to $0.01"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The asset-management titan BlackRock and hedge fund Citadel Securities deny involvement in the collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin UST and the cryptocurrency LUNA.<\/p>\n<figure class=\\\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\\\">\n<div class=\\\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\\\">\\n<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\\\"twitter-tweet\\\" data-width=\\\"500\\\" data-dnt=\\\"true\\\">\n<p lang=\\\"en\\\" dir=\\\"ltr\\\">Rumors that we had a role in the collapse of UST are categorically false. In fact, BlackRock does not trade UST. <a href=\\\"https:\/\/t.co\/0kjfwaZbwV\\\">https:\/\/t.co\/0kjfwaZbwV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 BlackRock (@BlackRock) <a href=\\\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BlackRock\/status\/1524525576849133570?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\\\">May 11, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\\\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\\\" charset=\\\"utf-8\\\"><\/script>\\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\\n\\n<\/p>\n<p>Previously, rumors circulated online that the firms borrowed 100 000 BTC from the Gemini exchange and swapped 25 000 BTC for UST. They allegedly contacted Terraform Labs head Do Kwon and told him they planned to unload a large amount of Bitcoin, offering him to buy a large stash of cryptocurrency at a discount for UST.<\/p>\n<p>\\n\\n<\/p>\n<p>Then BlackRock and Citadel allegedly dumped all of their assets, which led to the collapse of UST, LUNA and the entire market.<\/p>\n<p>\\n\\n<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\\\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\\\">\n<p>\\&#8221;BlackRock and Citadel knew that Anchor, which holds a large amount of LUNA, was a Ponzi scheme, and this collapse would trigger a larger outflow than Anchor could absorb. This would spark a mass sell-off of Luna, causing it to detach from $1 and further wreck the market. Now BlackRock and Citadel could buy Bitcoins cheaply to settle the loan and pocket the difference,\\&#8221; the theory contends.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\\n\\n<\/p>\n<p>The theory was spread, among others, by IOHK chief Charles Hoskinson. He later deleted the tweet and said the rumours were unconfirmed.<\/p>\n<p>\\n\\n<\/p>\n<figure class=\\\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\\\">\n<div class=\\\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\\\">\\n<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\\\"twitter-tweet\\\" data-width=\\\"500\\\" data-dnt=\\\"true\\\">\n<p lang=\\\"en\\\" dir=\\\"ltr\\\">No we\\&#8217;ve already moved on from that. Feels like it\\&#8217;s in the right ballpark however<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) <a href=\\\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IOHK_Charles\/status\/1524456017819537410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\\\">May 11, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\\\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\\\" charset=\\\"utf-8\\\"><\/script>\\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\\n\\n<\/p>\n<p>Gemini exchange said it did not provide a loan of 100 000 BTC to institutional counterparties.<\/p>\n<p>\\n\\n<\/p>\n<figure class=\\\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\\\">\n<div class=\\\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\\\">\\n<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\\\"twitter-tweet\\\" data-width=\\\"500\\\" data-dnt=\\\"true\\\">\n<p lang=\\\"en\\\" dir=\\\"ltr\\\">We are aware of a recent story that suggested Gemini made a 100K BTC loan to large institutional counter-parties that reportedly resulted in a selloff in <a href=\\\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=%24LUNA&#038;src=ctag&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\\\">$LUNA<\/a>. Gemini made no such loan.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Gemini (@Gemini) <a href=\\\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Gemini\/status\/1524428615844339718?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\\\">May 11, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\\\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\\\" charset=\\\"utf-8\\\"><\/script>\\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\\n\\n<\/p>\n<p>BlackRock described the rumors of its involvement in the UST crash as \\&#8221;categorically false\\&#8221; and noted that the company does not trade the asset.<\/p>\n<p>\\n\\n<\/p>\n<p>Citadel likewise said that the firm does not trade stablecoins, including UST, <a href=\\\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-05-11\/citadel-securities-says-not-involved-in-terra-stablecoin-crash?sref=AACmJ2tc\\\">the link<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\\n\\n<\/p>\n<div class=\\\"wp-block-text-wrappers-update-2 article_update\\\"><time class=\\\"gtb_text-wrappers_update_time\\\">12 May 2022 | 17:27<\/time><span class=\\\"gtb_text-wrappers_update_head\\\">Update: <\/span>\\n<\/p>\n<p>On the back of Terraform Labs\\&#8217; measures to rescue the stablecoin from collapse, UST supply rose above 18 billion coins. The price of the cryptocurrency fell below $0.01. UST trades around $0.50.<\/p>\n<p>\\n\\n\\n\\n<script async=\\\"\\\" src=\\\"https:\/\/telegram.org\/js\/telegram-widget.js?19\\\" data-telegram-post=\\\"forklog\/25474\\\" data-width=\\\"100%\\\"><\/script>\\n<\/div>\n<p>\\n\\n\\n<\/p>\n<p>As of writing, the price of UST was around $0.60.<\/p>\n<p>\\n\\n<\/p>\n<figure class=\\\"wp-block-image\\\"><img decoding=\\\"async\\\" src=\\\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/WD5_zkPUBIvQqhYnXFjicIGejs3TVvOVxeVHvz1RF6vBs_DNFE4z7nLf-z7coagwYBSoXby2zRHigRKqLdLZYYUqZ2A6wr7H7ggQcPfi4DtSWtjqemaMTRgvdnCd-3hITl08YWRkpmYIXV_-LA\\\" alt=\\\"BlackRock and Citadel deny involvement in UST crash; LUNA price falls to $0.01\\\"\/><figcaption>Hourly UST\/USD chart from Coinbase. Data: TradingView.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\\n\\n\\n<\/p>\n<p>The price of LUNA collapsed to $0.30.<\/p>\n<p>\\n\\n\\n<\/p>\n<figure class=\\\"wp-block-image\\\"><img decoding=\\\"async\\\" src=\\\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/gsjvvVQgtW7qnB5LZ0lOEn2x_xwIVfoM0AaUiI1tGpUjy7pRMoki6zD8AGtIOjZ6ayQIpl6PZYREMTQfp7kbL3NNPLwuVFJYWw19UJrvy1cqb4nQX3vyCJGvlBYagTX7zqO-moFSurBOyjvupg\\\" alt=\\\"BlackRock and Citadel deny involvement in UST crash; LUNA price falls to $0.01\\\"\/><figcaption>Hourly LUNA\/USD chart from Binance. Data: TradingView.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\\n\\n<\/p>\n<p>Back in early May, UST <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/ust-stablecoin-briefly-lost-its-peg-to-the-us-dollar-amid-anchor-outflows\">lost its peg to the US dollar<\/a> amid outflows from Anchor. On May 9, users <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/ust-stablecoin-loses-dollar-peg-amid-crypto-market-collapse\">withdrew more than 3.3 billion UST<\/a> from the protocol.<\/p>\n<p>\\n\\n\\n<\/p>\n<p>The price of the algorithmic stablecoin and LUNA <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/luna-price-plunges-86-as-ust-stablecoin-slides\">has been falling rapidly<\/a> for several days now.<\/p>\n<p>\\n\\n\\n<\/p>\n<p>Do Kwon unveiled <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/terraform-labs-ceo-outlines-plan-to-rescue-ust-as-luna-tumbles-below-1\">a plan to restore UST\\&#8217;s price<\/a>, but this did not stem the sell-off.<\/p>\n<p>\\n\\n\\n<\/p>\n<p>Follow ForkLog\\&#8217;s Bitcoin news in our Telegram \u2014 crypto news, prices and analysis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The asset-management titan BlackRock and hedge fund Citadel Securities deny involvement in the collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin UST and the cryptocurrency LUNA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[865,2252,719,852],"class_list":["post-61319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-blackrock","tag-citadel","tag-gemini","tag-terra"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"63","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61319"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61321,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61319\/revisions\/61321"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}