The 2010 U.S. market crash that erased nearly $1 trillion in minutes was called the Flash Crash.
On May 6, 2010, U.S. equity markets plunged rapidly before recovering much of the loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly fell about 1,000 points, roughly 9%, in the largest intraday point decline at that time. Some individual securities traded at implausible prices, including extremely low quotations.
Investigations found that automated trading played a major role. A large sell order in E-mini S&P 500 futures interacted with high-frequency trading and rapidly changing liquidity. The exact chain of events was complex, and the crash was not simply one ordinary investor pressing a sell button.
The episode led regulators and exchanges to introduce or strengthen safeguards such as circuit breakers and coordinated trading pauses. It also demonstrated how quickly electronically connected markets can amplify a temporary imbalance.