Emergency Liquidation Suspension
Emergency Liquidation Suspension is a protocol-level intervention that halts the automated liquidation of under-collateralized positions during extreme market conditions. In normal operations, liquidations are necessary to maintain the solvency of the protocol.
However, during a market crash, the price of collateral can drop so rapidly that automated systems may fail or exacerbate the problem, leading to bad debt. By suspending liquidations, the protocol provides a cooling-off period that allows for price discovery and prevents unnecessary loss for users whose positions might otherwise be healthy under normal conditions.
This is a powerful tool for maintaining stability, but it must be used sparingly to avoid accumulating too much bad debt within the system. It requires a high level of trust in the governance or the emergency authority that manages the suspension.
It is a delicate balance between protecting users and ensuring the long-term solvency of the protocol.