Bitcoin plunges this Monday, June 13 to its lowest level in 18 months. At issue: the prospect of tight US monetary policy and a sluggish global economy cutting off the market’s appetite for risk. Key rate hikes are now officially announced and financial markets and cryptocurrencies are struggling with the negative economic outlook and the risks of recession.
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While the first cryptocurrency had been galvanized in 2021 by stimulus policies, particularly in the United States, it melted by almost 10% around 10:20 a.m. to 24,692 dollars, a drop of 65% compared to its all-time high in November 2021 and a lowest since December 2020.
LATEST: Bitcoin drops below $24,500 https://t.co/0lwCpdm4ug pic.twitter.com/4UeSklBvw8
—Bloomberg Markets (@markets) June 13, 2022
A sluggish cryptocurrency market
This Monday, June 13, Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency also lost more than 13% and fell below 1300 dollars, its lowest since January 2021, cardano below 0.5 dollars caused a drop of 14% and Solana lost 19 % falling below $27, according to the Investing site.
A fall which follows that of the stock market since the Cac 40 also lost more than 2% at 11:20 a.m. to reach 6061 points, i.e. a lowest since the beginning of March. The US stock market, which opens at 2:30 p.m., should also experience sharp declines.
Celsius freezes user withdrawals
Cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network announced a freeze on withdrawals due to “extreme market conditions,” a move that has helped to escalate those same tensions and sent bitcoin’s price to its lowest level since Monday. almost 18 months. Celsius Network promises high interest rates to customers who deposit their cryptocurrency with it and lends cryptocurrency to other “crypto” market companies or investors in exchange for commissions. The company raised in November 750 million dollars (716 million euros) from investors including the second Canadian pension fund.
On its blog, the company explained that it froze withdrawals and transfers between accounts “in order to stabilize liquidity and operations while we take measures to preserve and protect assets” adding “we are working with a single priority: protect and preserve assets to meet our obligations to customers.”
Cryptocurrency lending has seen steady growth, which has caught the attention of financial regulators, particularly in the United States. In mid-May, Celsius Network posted $8.2 billion in loans and $11.8 billion in assets according to its website. The fall of the stablecoin terraUSD last month amplified this trend.
The Celsius Network website still posted ads on Monday promising yields of up to 18.6%. “Earn high, borrow low, change the world”, assured its slogan. On Twitter, rival platform Nexo said it had offered to help Celsius but was turned down, saying it was working on a possible asset takeover bid.
with AFP.