The cryptocurrency market experienced a “pump and dump” scenario when fake information regarding the approval of the iShares BTC ETF from BlackRock emerged on October 16. As per CoinMarketCap (CMC), the global crypto market capitalization surged to a two-week high of $1.12 trillion shortly after Cointelegraph published the false news.

The 24-hour trading volume in the cryptocurrency market reached a peak of approximately $63 billion during this period. Nevertheless, when BlackRock officially refuted the approval of their ETF application, the crypto ecosystem saw a sudden and sharp decline.

In response, the global market capitalization swiftly fell to $1.08 trillion, with a 24-hour trading volume of $61 billion.

On October 16, Crypto Banter, a YouTube crypto analyst, accused Cointelegraph of “market manipulation” due to the fake news, suggesting potential legal consequences for Cointelegraph if it doesn’t rectify the situation.

Data from Santiment reveals a rapid 2,650% surge in social media activity around the term “ETF” following the dissemination of the false news.

Additionally, the price of Bitcoin experienced a significant jump to approximately $30,000. Nevertheless, BTC has since retraced to the $28,000 level.