Citing “extreme market conditions” crypto lender Celsius has blocked customers from pulling funds from its platform.
Following its lead Binance also halted withdrawals of bitcoin, blaming a “stuck transaction”, while digital assets slumped in price.
Amid a surge in inflation and signals from big central banks that they will cut back dramatically on stimulus, Bitcoin, ether, and other major tokens have wobbled in recent weeks.
According to Bloomberg, the price of bitcoin fell as much as 10.3 per cent on Tuesday to an 18-month low of $20,823.56.
Earlier, after signs of strain in the infrastructure were displayed, underpinning the digital asset market, there was a sharp decline in the price of bitcoin the previous day well.
Cory Klippsten, chief executive of Swan Bitcoin, a bitcoin savings platform, told news agency Reuters that “Almost anything can be systemic in crypto … because the whole space is over-levered.”
In the latest sign of the financial market downturn hitting the crypto sphere, companies exposed to cryptocurrencies have warned that declines in token prices could have ripple effects.
US inflation data published last Friday prompted investors to raise their bets on Federal Reserve rate hikes and as a result markets extended a sell-off.
Briefly breaking its 1:1 peg with the dollar, Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin collapsed followed by the terraUSD and luna tokens in May rattling the cryptocurrency investors.
(With inputs from agencies)
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