C Network has halted withdrawals due to “extreme market conditions” as the $12 billion digital asset lending platform is facing growing strains from the pullback on Bitcoin. on the cryptocurrency market.
This group has faced growing pressure in recent weeks as investors flee the market for crypto profit products, in which traders lend their tokens to in exchange for a high fixed rate of return.
On Monday, Celsius said it was “pausing all withdrawals, swaps and transfers between accounts” to put it “in a better position to honor its withdrawal obligations under time”.
The company, founded in 2017, is one of the biggest players in the cryptocurrency industry. Last year, it raised $400 million in an equity funding round led by Caisse de Đépôt et setting du Québec, Canada’s second-largest pension fund, and WestCap, a fund run by former Airbnb and Blackstone executive Laurence Tosi, established.
Celsius’ move continues to weaken sentiment in the market for lending more established digital tokens as collateral to support new crypto projects. Last month, the tokens terra and luna – which are the foundation of another popular profit platform – collapsed in a few days.
The value of assets deposited on the Celsius platform drops lower 12 billion dollars on May 17 from over $24 billion at the end of December.
Poisonwhich has offices in the US, UK and Lithuania, says that the freezing of their customers’ ability to withdraw is done “in the interest of our entire community to stabilize liquidity and operations while We take steps to preserve and protect assets”.
“Celsius has valuable assets and we are working diligently to meet our obligations,” the team wrote in a Medium post announcing the news.
The latest troubles in degrees Celsius have dealt a heavy blow to the broader crypto market. According to Refinitiv data, Ether, which is seen as a proxy for sentiment towards digital asset projects that offer investors high yields, has lost a fifth of its value to trade in. level of 1,321 USD. Bitcoin, the world’s most actively traded cryptocurrency, fell 12% to just over $25,000, its lowest level since December 2020.
The team’s own coin, known by its token CEL, has lost half its value in the past 24 hours, CryptoCompare data shows.
The platform has faced inquiries over the past week from customers who said they were unable to make withdrawals. CEO Alex Mashinsky challenged critics over the weekend to find “even one person with a withdrawal problem”.
Additional reporting by William Langley in Hong Kong
