The Pattern of Trading Activity on Crypto Exchanges During the Terra Luna and FTX Episodes

BIS found a striking pattern in trading activity on crypto trading platforms during both the Terra Luna and the FTX episodes. Large investors or insiders were selling their coins, whereas small retail investors were buying coins. And so we'd talk about the whales, the Bitcoin investors that were really cashing out at the expense of ordinary investors. The impact may be much larger for individual investors. We find that quite a few people did lose money. It's just that this didn't spill over to the broader financial system.