Read in the Digest:
- Celsius freezes withdrawals, price crashes after sending $320 million to FTX.
- May CPI report sparks Bitcoin and crypto market crash, wiping $100 billion.
- Ethereum drops to $1,200 as developers announce Merge delay.
- European Union nears agreement on cryptocurrency regulation.
- Grayscale: pension funds are exploring crypto, Yellen pushes against 401(k) crypto funds.
Celsius Freezes Withdrawals, Price Crash After Sending $320 Million to FTX
The Celsius Network, one of the foremost decentralized finance platforms, has been hit with a major liquidity crisis. To combat the situation and “stabilize liquidity and operations,” the lending platform unstaked $247 million worth of Wrapped Bitcoin from Aave.
With investors rapidly pulling funds from Celsius, the developers announced the halting of all trades and withdrawals. The Celsius team stated that they took “this action today to put Celsius in a better position to honor, over time, its withdrawal obligations.”
Data tracker Watcher.Guru reported that the Celsius Network transferred as much as $320 million (consisting of the aforementioned unstaked wBTC and 54,749 stETH worth $74.5 million USD) to the FTX exchange before announcing that it would be halting all trades and withdrawals on the platform.
In light of the liquidity crisis and the withdrawal restrictions, the price of Celsius (CEL) has fallen by as much as 75%. Over the last 24 hours, CEL has dropped by 49% to trade at $0.2074 at the time of writing, marking significant losses from its 7-day high of $0.76.
The 7 day price chart for Celsius (CEL). Source: CoinMarketCap
Flipsider:
- Celsius claims that its “ultimate objective is steadying liquidity and restoring withdrawals, swaps, and transfers between accounts as soon as possible. Although the voluminous workload might delay the process.”
Why You Should Care
The fear, uncertainty, and doubt surrounding DeFi projects after the Terra crash has played a role in the sell-off which is crippling Celsius.
May CPI Report Sparks Bitcoin and Crypto Market Crash, Wiping $170 Billion
On Friday, June 10th, the Bureau of Labour Statistics released its May ‘Consumer Price Index’ (CPI) report, stating that the United States has hit an annual inflation rate of 8.6%, its highest since 1981.
The report sparked a downtrend in the stocks and bonds markets, accelerating the ongoing crypto sell-off. Since the announcement, the price of Bitcoin has plunged from a high of $30,400 to as low as $23,400.
The 7 day price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap
Over the last 24 hours, the price of Bitcoin has fallen by 15%—the third largest single-day price drop of the last decade. As of this writing, Bitcoin trades at $23,607, its lowest price since December 2020.
The 24 hour price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap
The massive sell-off is not unique to bitcoin, with each the top 10 Altcoins ranked by market cap reporting losses of at least double digits over the last 24 hours. The crash has subsequently seen more than $170 billion wiped from the global crypto market cap over the same period.
The 7 day price chart for the global crypto market cap. Source: CoinMarketCap
Flipsider:
- Despite the market crash, Nigel Green, the CEO of Devere Group, predicts Bitcoin to experience a significant bull run and price rise in the fourth quarter of this year.
Why You Should Care
According to analysts, the fear of worsening inflation has caused many investors to sell their Bitcoin and Altcoin stakes.
Ethereum Drops to $1,200 as Developers Announce Merge Delay
On Monday, the price of Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, fell to below $1,200 for the first time since November 2020. at the time of writing, ETH is down by 16% over the last 24 hours, trading at an interday low of $1,999.
The 24 hour price chart for Ethereum (ETH). Source: CoinMarketCap
Ethereum’s sharp decline, which kicked off with an announcement from network developers that the “Difficulty Bomb” would be delayed by at least two months, was intensified by the announcement that inflation in the U.S. had hit a four-decade high of 8.6%.
Tim Beiko, an Ethereum core developer, announced that, after analyzing the bugs in the recently concluded Ropsten Testnet merge, the Difficulty Bomb would be pushed to August 2022, marking its sixth delay.
The Difficulty Bomb is crucial in forcing validators to accept the merge and the new PoS model. The implementation of the Difficulty Bomb will exponentially increase the difficulty level of puzzles required for Proof of Work mining, forcing miners to adopt PoS.
Flipsider:
- Last month, Vitalik Buterin and Preston Van Loon, an Ethereum core developer, announced that “if everything goes to plan,” the mainnet merge will be carried out in August.
Why You Should Care
The Difficult Bomb was pushed back due to the fact that it could prove to be problematic for the stability of the Ethereum network if it were to be detonated too soon before the mainnet merge.
European Union Nears Agreement on Cryptocurrency Regulation
The European Union is concluding its ‘Markets in Crypto Assets‘ (MiCA) proposal, which will introduce standardized rules for the regulation of the cryptocurrency industry across its 27 member countries.
The French President, the current chair of the EU, and the European Parliament (EP), are all optimistic about settling the issues that have delayed the draft’s advancement. Sources familiar with the move report that negotiators are expected to meet to iron out any issues on June 14th and 30th.
According to these reports, the EU is assessing the impact of cryptocurrencies on financial stability, and look to ensure investor protection, which has sorely risen in priority in light of the fall of the TerraUSD stablecoin in May.
Member states and the EU parliament are still discussing ways to reduce the use of stablecoin for payments, especially for transactions which are not denominated in euros.
Flipsider:
- According to reports, EU members and legislature are heatedly discussing the addition of anti-money laundering provisions in the crypto legislation.
Why You Should Care
Should a consensus be reached, the EU will proceed to introduce a union-wide framework for the regulation of the crypto industry.
Grayscale: Pension Funds Are Exploring Crypto, Yellen Pushes Against 401(k) Crypto Funds
Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of digital asset management firm Grayscale Investments, has said that more pension fund companies are looking to add crypto to clients portfolios, even despite the declining crypto market.
According to Sonnenshein, investors are looking at the crypto sector with a long-term perspective in mind. Sonnenshein further emphasized that investors are particularly aware of regulatory outlooks when exploring such digital assets.
Janet Yellen, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, has pushed back against the inclusion of crypto in retirement accounts, due to their nature as “very risky” options for regular savers.
Yellen expressed that the inclusion of crypto in retirement plans is not something she would recommend. The U.S. Treasury Secretary then added that Congress could look to regulate the use of crypto in retirement plans.
Flipsider:
- Sonnenshein has criticized Yellen’s stance, claiming that she was shortsighted in pushing for restrictions to access to Bitcoin.
Why You Should Care
The exploration of crypto for pension funds aligns with the sentiment that cryptocurrencies will eventually regain their previous highs, and naturally grow in value in the future.