Bitcoin tumbled today after major US cryptocurrency lending company Celsius Network froze withdrawals and transfers citing"extreme" conditions, in the latest sign of how financial market turbulence is causing distress in the cryptosphere.
Crypto markets have dived in the past few weeks as rising interest rates and surging inflation hurt riskier assets across financial markets."It's still an uncomfortable moment, and there's some contagion risk around crypto more broadly," said Joseph Edwards, head of financial strategy at fund management firm Solrise Finance.
"We are taking this action today to put Celsius in a better position to honour, over time, its withdrawal obligations," the New Jersey-based company said. Celsius raised $750 million in funding late in November from investors, including Canada's second-largest pension fund Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec. Celsius was valued at the time at $3.25 billion.