Bitcoin’s ‘Most Volatile Day’ Prompts Exchanges to Make Changes

(Bloomberg) — The crypto industry won’t soon forget when the widening coronavirus pandemic sent digital currencies tumbling along with most other asset classes worldwide.

Market heavyweight Bitcoin dropped 37.5% on March 12, recording its third-worst 24-hour performance ever — and the largest decline since the coin entered the mainstream conscience in 2017, according to researcher Coin Metrics. On Huobi, one of the largest digital exchanges, more than 10,000 leveraged users’ positions got liquidated, according to the company.

“This was by far the most volatile day in the modern history of Bitcoin,” said Nic Carter, co-founder of Boston-based Coin Metrics.

Historically, price volatility has been good for crypto exchanges, which make the bulk of their money from trading fees. But for some exchanges, the crash is proving to be a negative even with prices rebounding. BitMex has seen an exodus of about 91,000 Bitcoins valued at more than $700 million, as trades blew up or…