Bitcoin crashes to $0 on Paradex in sudden flash event: here’s what happened

A startling glitch on Paradex, a leading decentralized perpetuals exchange on Starknet, caused Bitcoin's price to briefly plummet to zero, sparking widespread liquidations and prompting an urgent blockchain rollback.

The team at Paradex later confirmed the platform was back online.

However, the incident highlights the continued vulnerabilities facing decentralised finance infrastructure amid growing adoption of layer-2 solutions.

Paradex initiates rollback

On Monday, Starknet-based Paradex experienced a critical database migration error that erroneously valued Bitcoin at $0 on its platform.

The anomaly led to a cascade of automated liquidations, wiping out thousands of leveraged positions. Liquidations hit as trading algorithms reacted to the impossible price feed.

After an alert, the exchange announced a trading halt and a rollback, which the team initiated before the exchange came back online around 12:10 UTC on January 19, 2026.

However, the glitch meant all open orders were forcibly canceled, except for take-profit and stop-loss (TPSL) orders, as the team sought to restore integrity.

The team noted in an update:

​Mass liquidations rock traders

The zero-price flash crash triggered massive liquidations across Paradex's perpetual markets, exposing traders to extreme volatility risks inherent in decentralized venues.

Reports indicate thousands of positions were closed involuntarily, amplifying losses during a period of already fragile market sentiment.

Starknet's native STRK token dipped 5% in the aftermath, reflecting broader ecosystem concerns.

According to data on CoinMarketCap, STRK price hovered near $0.081 at the time of writing.

Elsewhere, Bitcoin's spot price remained stable globally, trading around recent lows after diving from highs above $97,000.

“Since the ETF market was not open at the time, this selling pressure is coming from US whales operating outside of ETFs,” analysts at CryptoQuant wrote on X.

BTC hovered below $93k, and analysts at Bitfinex note that while the market structure has improved, sell overhang remains. Macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty is a key factor for bulls.

User criticism

Social media users on X unleashed sharp criticism following Paradex's Bitcoin price glitch and chain rollback, branding the platform unreliable and unprofessional. Many labeled it "a joke," highlighting eroded trust in its DeFi operations.

​One trader vented:

​Another user posted:

​Most reactions are skewed heavily negative, with users questioning Starknet's L2 maturity and Paradex's governance.

Critics argued rollbacks undermine blockchain immutability, fueling demands for refunds and better audits, though some acknowledged quick communication.