Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Flash crash
open-in-new
<p>In modern finance, a flash crash is a very rapid, deep, and volatile fall in <a href="/facts/Security_(finance)/lJRYHKgD">security</a> prices occurring within a very short time period followed by a quick recovery. Flash crashes are frequently blamed by media on <a href="/facts/Trade/S13U8JKr">trades</a> executed by <a href="/facts/Black-box_trading/GagwN2Bs">black-box trading</a>, combined with <a href="/facts/High-frequency_trading/QWWwQgkI">high-frequency trading</a>, whose speed and interconnectedness can result in the loss and recovery of billions of dollars in a matter of minutes and seconds, but in reality occur because almost all participants have pulled their liquidity and temporarily paused their trading in the face of a sudden increase in risk. </p>