A representation of cryptocurrencies in this illustration made on January 24, 2022. REUTERS / Dado Ruvic / Illustration
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June 13 (Reuters) – Cryptocurrency lending company Celsius Network will halt withdrawals and transfers between accounts due to “extreme market conditions”, the company said on Monday, in the latest sign of pressure on the industry cryptographic.
Bitcoin extended previous falls after the Celsius announcement, falling more than 6% to $ 24,888, a 18-month low. Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, fell more than 8 percent to $ 1,303, its lowest level since March 2021.
“We are taking this necessary action … to stabilize liquidity and operations while taking steps to preserve and protect assets,” the company said in a blog post.
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“In addition, customers will continue to accrue rewards during the break in accordance with our commitment to our customers.”
Celsius Network, which raised $ 750 million in funding late last year, is a major player in cryptocurrency lending. It offers products that bring interest to customers who deposit their cryptocurrencies in the company and lends cryptocurrencies for profit.
As of May 17, the company had processed $ 8.2 billion worth of loans and had $ 11.8 billion in assets, according to its website.
In August last year it said it had more than $ 20 billion in assets.
Although cryptocurrency lending has become a growing business, the industry has been under regulatory control, especially in the US.
Cryptocurrency markets have come under pressure in recent months, falling alongside other so-called risk assets as interest rates have risen worldwide.
Falling prices have also been caused and contributed to the collapse of some cryptographic projects. The highlight was the fall of the stablecoin TerraUSD, which last month broke its fixation on the dollar and plummeted in value, shaking up the crypto industry. Read more
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Report by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bangalore and Alun John in Hong Kong; Editing by Bradley Perrett
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