The crypto industry just had one of its worst days ever
Crypto has had a brutal first half of 2022, but few days have been this bad for the industry that’s built itself up around digital currencies.
On Monday, trading platforms halted withdrawals, companies cut jobs, and panicked investors dumped their holdings, dragging the market cap of crypto below $1 trillion, down from $3 trillion at its peak in November.
Bitcoin plunged to an 18-month low, falling below $23,000. The most valuable cryptocurrency tumbled by 15% in the past 24 hours, while ethereum, which is second to bitcoin, fell 17%.
The sell-off comes as investors rotate out of the riskiest assets due to macroeconomic headwinds and rising interest rates. But it’s worse than that. The action on Monday showed a fundamental mistrust of cryptocurrencies and the platforms that support them. What was already a deep downturn started to look like panic selling.