On Sunday night, one of the major crypto lending platforms, Celsius Network, abruptly imposed a “halt” on withdrawals and transfers, claiming “extreme market conditions.” Celsius announced its suspension as Asian markets opened on Monday morning, and the price of its CEL token, which was worth about $7 a year ago, dropped by a third to barely 21 cents.
Other cryptocurrencies’ prices have fallen in the hours since the stoppage. The overall market cap of crypto assets (including stablecoins and tokens) was below $1 trillion as of 8:53 AM ET, down from $3 trillion in November, according to CoinMarketCap’s worldwide cryptocurrency tracker.
