Before the US-Iran Deal was disclosed, a $1.7 billion short position appeared in the oil market, leading to questions about whether Axios was "colluding in short selling."

BlockBeats News, May 7th: Shortly before the US and Iran Close to Reaching Ceasefire MOU was reported by the American media Axios, the WTI crude oil futures market suddenly saw a massive sell-off of over $1.7 billion, sparking suspicions of insider trading and early information leakage.

Data shows that around 3:40 to 4:10 AM ET, the market, in the absence of major news, aggressively built up nearly 10,000 short contracts for crude oil, with a notional value of about $920 million. Approximately 70 minutes later, Axios, citing US officials, reported that the US and Iran were close to reaching a "14-point agreement" to end the conflict. Subsequently, oil prices plummeted by over 12%, causing the related short positions to temporarily gain unrealized profits of around $125 million.

Several energy traders stated that trading activities are usually thin during the early hours, making such large-scale precise trades "highly unusual." There are suspicions that some traders may have had early access to the information. Axios reporters, however, denied the accusations of colluding with market participants to manipulate the situation.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had previously been reported to be investigating abnormal trading behavior related to "genuine social" media posts and media coverage. US Senator Elizabeth Warren also publicly questioned the related trades, stating that they "look like insider trading."

Furthermore, Iranian Parliament Speaker Kalibaf publicly refuted Axios's report on the "US-Iran agreement," calling it a "fabricated media narrative" and mocking it as "Operation Fauxios (Fake News Operation)."