Last week bitcoin fell 31% and Celsius put a hold on withdrawals – and some fear the turmoil is far from over
he cryptocurrency market could do with some respite but its convention-breaking nature means there is no hiatus. Trading in digital assets such as bitcoin and ethereum runs 24/7, unlike their conventional peers in equities on the New York and London stock exchanges, which at least get the weekend off.
The entire crypto market fell below $1 trillion last week, a precipitous decline from its peak of $3tn in November last year. A number of factors drove the declines – a mix of crypto-specific events and wider macroeconomic issues – and some of them will continue to hang over the market this week as well.because of “extreme market conditions”, prompting a sell-off.
, last Wednesday, Zhu Su, the Dubai-based investor behind Three Arrows, tweeted that “we are in the process of communicating with relevant parties and fully committed to working this out”.on Friday, saying that the firm was exploring options including asset sales and a rescue by another firm. “We have always been believers in crypto and we still are,” Davies said.
Brosens adds that some of the issues affecting the equity and bond markets have had an impact on bitcoin. The cryptocurrency was seen as a hedge, or protection, against inflation. That has not been the case recently as rising inflation has prompted central banks to raise interest rates, a combination that always hits risky assets.