A gang of cryptocurrencies has snatched tens of billions of dollars from investors’ assets and sparked urgent calls to regulate the freewheeling industry.
The price of Bitcoin has fallen below $ 20,000 for the first time since late 2020 in a new sign that cryptocurrency sales are deepening.
Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, fell below the psychologically important threshold, dropping to 9 percent to less than $ 19,000, according to CoinDesk, a U.S.-based exchange platform.
The last time Bitcoin was at this level was in November 2020, when it reached its all-time high of nearly $ 69,000.
Bitcoin has now lost more than 70 percent of its value since reaching that peak.
Ethereum, another very popular cryptocurrency that has fallen in recent weeks, suffered a similar crash on Saturday.
It is the latest sign of turmoil in the cryptocurrency industry amid widespread turmoil in financial markets. Investors are selling riskier assets because central banks are raising interest rates to fight accelerating inflation.
A wave of cryptocurrency crisis has wiped out tens of billions of dollars of investors’ assets and sparked urgent calls to regulate the freewheeling industry.
The cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network said this month that it was pausing all withdrawals and transfers, with no sign of when it would give its 1.7 million customers access to its funds.
The USDT, a stable currency in the Earth ecosystem, made an implosion last month, wiping out tens of billions of dollars in a matter of hours.
The industry has also suffered losses after companies such as Coinbase Global Inc., Gemini. and Blockfi said they would lay off thousands of employees while investors abandon risky assets.
The situation showed how the big players in the cryptocurrency financial system are interconnected and how quickly perceptions can spread.