LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) – Bitcoin fell to a new 18-month low on Wednesday, dragging smaller tokens with it and deepening the market crash caused by crypto lender Celsius this week, freezing customer withdrawals.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell 7.8 percent to $ 20,289, its lowest since December 2020. It has lost about 28 percent and more than half its value since Friday. It fell by about 70% from its record high of $ 69,000 in November.
The digital currency sector was hit this week after US crypto lender Celsius froze withdrawals and transfers between accounts, fueling fears of infecting markets already shaken by the disappearance of terraUSD and luna tokens last month.
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Expectations of a sharp rise in US Federal Reserve interest rates as inflation in the world’s largest economy rises have also increased pressure on risky assets from cryptocurrencies to stocks.
According to digital asset manager CoinShares, cryptocurrencies leaked $ 102 million last week, citing investors’ expectations of tighter central bank policies.
The value of the global crypto market fell 70% to below $ 900 billion from a peak of $ 2.97 trillion in November, according to CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin so far in 2022
“The waves that are passing through the market have not stopped yet,” said Scotty Siou, investment director at Hong Kong-based Axion Global Asset Management. “I think we’re still in the middle, unfortunately the game is not over.”
Celsius has hired lawyers for restructuring and is looking for possible options for financing from investors, the Wall Street Journal writes, quoting acquaintances. Celsius is also exploring strategic alternatives, including financial restructuring, it said.
Smaller cryptocurrencies, which tend to move in tandem with bitcoin, have also fallen. Ether, the second-largest token, fell 12 percent to $ 1,045, a new low in 15 months.
The chaos of the crypto market has spread to other companies, with a number of exchanges cutting the workforce.
US major stock exchange Coinbase Global Inc (COIN.O) said on Tuesday it would cut about 1,100 jobs, or 18% of its workforce. Gemini, another US stock exchange, said this month it would cut 10% of its workforce. Read more
However, others continue to hire. Binance, the world’s largest stock exchange, said on Wednesday it was hiring 2,000 positions, and the US stock exchange Kraken said it had 500 filling positions. Read more
“Relax,” tweeted Binance CEO Changpen Zhao.
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Report by Tom Wilson; additional reports by Alan John in Hong Kong, edited by William McLean and Jason Neely
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