• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
How one man ‘caused’ a $1,000,000,000,000 US stock market crash from the comfort of his bedroom

Home> News> UK News

Published 14:32 27 Aug 2024 GMT+1

How one man ‘caused’ a $1,000,000,000,000 US stock market crash from the comfort of his bedroom

Navinder Sarao became known as 'The Hound of Hounslow' after his technique for gaming the US stock market was exposed

Kit Roberts

Kit Roberts

Featured Image Credit: John Phillips/Getty Images / Carl Court/Getty Images

Topics: News, US News, UK News, Money, Crime

Kit Roberts
Kit Roberts

Kit joined UNILAD in 2023 as a community journalist. They have previously worked for StokeonTrentLive, the Daily Mirror, and the Daily Star.

Advert

Advert

Advert

One man's activities in his parents' home contributed to a short but sharp crash of $1 trillion on the US stock market.

You've probably heard of The Wolf of Wall Street, but have you heard of The Hound of Hounslow?

Navinder Singh Sarao, aka 'The Hound of Hounslow'. (John Phillips/Getty Images)
Navinder Singh Sarao, aka 'The Hound of Hounslow'. (John Phillips/Getty Images)

This was moniker given to Navinder Singh Sarao, who is thought to have made $40 million from his parents' London home using a technique to game the market.

Advert

However, this technique may have had some big repercussions, and Sarao was eventually tracked down and arrested after his activities were linked to a brief but sharp crash in 2010.

The crash lasted for less than an hour before the markets recovered, but saw some $1 trillion lost from the markets in a blood-pressure-escalating 35 minutes.

Sarao had taught himself to trade on the stock markets, and his activities were part of what caused panic on the markets in 2010's so-called 'flash crash'.

The trader, now 45, was held in Wandsworth Prison in the UK for four months after his arrest before he was extradited to the US.

Advert

But what on Earth did he do that may have been a factor in such a huge, if brief, panic in the markets?

Sarao had used a technique called 'spoofing'. (Carl Court/Getty Images)
Sarao had used a technique called 'spoofing'. (Carl Court/Getty Images)

Sarao used a technique called 'spoofing', which took advantage of the software used by high frequency traders.

These are traders which are often computers running algorithms that make trades extremely quickly to try and be the first to cash in on market changes.

Advert

But because these high frequency traders reacted to market fluctuations very quickly, Sarao noticed that they reacted predictably.

It was almost as though they were a flock of sheep which could be 'herded' by a hound, as they would all move in the same direction.

Sarao took advantage of this by placing thousands of orders on the market, increasing demand in one direction, which is what 'spoofing' refers to.

He would then quickly cancel or change the orders after the high frequency traders reacted.

Advert

Sarao carried out the trades at his parents' house in Hounslow. (Carl Court/Getty Images)
Sarao carried out the trades at his parents' house in Hounslow. (Carl Court/Getty Images)

This meant he could make the buy or sell orders at a profit by 'herding' the market in a particular direction.

In 2016 Sarao agreed to pay $12.8 million to the US government, which was how much prosecutors had said he had earned.

Despite his practices being a factor in the flash crash, prosecutors also didn't pursue any jail time for him.

Advert

They took account of Sarao's autism and the fact he had already served time in jail while on remand in the UK.

Defence attorneys said that he had viewed his activities as being 'like winning a video game', and he didn't spend the money on any luxuries, losing a lot of it to fraudsters.

Sarao had also used his expertise to actively help the government crack down on financial crime in the years following his arrest.

Choose your content:

4 hours ago
  • Justin E Palmer/Getty
    4 hours ago

    Louis Tomlinson reveals the one celebrity he will ‘f***ing forever despise’ because of Liam Payne interview

    Tomlinson expressed his animosity towards this particular influencer

    Celebrity
  • Justin Sullivan/Getty
    4 hours ago

    OpenAI CEO slammed for comments about jobs that will eventually be replaced by Artificial Intelligence

    Sam Altman had a controversial take on what kind of jobs might be replaced by AI

    News
  • Twitter/@EdwinCastr99605
    4 hours ago

    Man who won $2,000,000,000 on Powerball reveals reason for latest spending after it sparks debate

    Edwin Castro scooped a huge powerball win but has since caused controversy

    News
  • CBS News
    4 hours ago

    4 sisters diagnosed with the same extremely rare brain condition that can lead to paralysis

    Four-year-old Austyn, six-year-old Amelia, nine-year-old Aubrey and 12-year-old Adalee were all suffering with the same condition

    News
  • Donald Trump points out one thing people will ‘realize’ as he defends tariffs impact despite US stock market dropping again
  • Shocking impact Trump’s decisions have had on the US stock market 6 months into presidency
  • US stock market plummets as Trump announces he's doubling tariffs on two major Canadian goods
  • Trump sends brutal message to ‘weak’ and ‘stupid’ people as stock market opens amid tariffs fallout