The Celsius network, which has 1.7 million customers, said “high market conditions” would force all cash withdrawals, crypto transfers and transactions between accounts to be suspended.
“We are taking this necessary step for the benefit of our entire community and to stabilize cash flow and operations, while at the same time taking steps to protect and safeguard assets,” the company said in a blog post.
The UK-based company has assets of about $ 3.7 billion, according to its website. It pays interest on cryptocurrency deposits, And credit them for getting it back.
“The cessation of Celsius yesterday gave an additional negative momentum,” said Jeffrey Haley, senior market analyst at Asia Pacific, Oanda. “Psychologically I can only guess that the next big level for Bitcoin would be $ 20,000.”
Ether, the second most valuable digital currency, fell 4%, taking its losses to about 32% since Friday. It has lost 75% of its value since November.
Finance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, stopped withdrawing from its Bitcoin network for a few hours on Monday. The company said some transactions were “in trouble” and causing setbacks.
“The Accounting Committee is working on a long-term solution to expedite pending transactions on the Bitcoin (BTC) network and to prevent similar situations in the future,” it said in a statement.
The so-called “stablecoins” – cryptocurrencies tied to the value of the most traditional assets – have succeeded. Tether, a popular staple coin, broke its stake against the US dollar in May, piercing the view that it would act as a hedge against volatility.
TerroyST, a risky algorithmic staple coin, used a complex index to calculate its value against the US dollar, which fell in the same month, wiping out the savings of thousands of investors. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the currency was valued at more than $ 18 billion at the beginning of May.
Celsius Network does not say when it will allow customers to withdraw their deposits, nor does it say it will “take time”.
Meanwhile, governments are closely monitoring the fall in cryptocurrency downturn and may take steps to protect investors.
“There are many risks associated with cryptocurrencies,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the Senate last month. He said his department is yet to release a report on this.
– Julia Horowitz contributed to the reporting.
