Crypto assets shed $800bn in market value in a month

Published May 10, 2022
Broken representation of the Bitcoin virtual currency, placed on a monitor that displays stock graph and binary codes, are seen in this illustration picture, — Reuters
Broken representation of the Bitcoin virtual currency, placed on a monitor that displays stock graph and binary codes, are seen in this illustration picture, — Reuters

Crypto assets bled nearly $800 billion in market value over the past month, touching a low of $1.4 trillion on Tuesday, according to data site CoinMarketCap, as the end of easy monetary policy diminishes appetite for risk assets.

Bitcoin, which makes up for nearly 40 per cent of the crypto market, hit a 10-month low earlier on Tuesday, before rebounding to $31,450, just six days after touching $40,000. It was more than 54pc below its Nov. 10 all-time high of $69,000.

Digital asset prices have slumped, mirroring a plunge in equities on fears of aggressive interest rate hikes across the globe to stave off decades-high inflation.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 28pc from its November 2021 record high.

Also read: SBP governor sees 'no good use' for cryptocurrency

The total crypto market value was at $2.2tr on April 2, well off of its all-time peak of $2.9tr in early November, as per CoinMarketCap.

"Bitcoin remains highly correlated to the broader economic conditions, which suggest the road ahead may, unfortunately, be a rocky one, at least for the time being," blockchain data provider Glassnode said in a note.

Signs of weakness in stablecoins, typically a safer cryptocurrency, further spooked investors.

TerraUSD, the world's fourth-largest stablecoin, lost a third of its value on Tuesday as it lost its peg to the dollar.

Despite bitcoin's price slump, funds and products linked to it posted inflows of $45m last week as investors took advantage of price weakness, according to digital asset manager Coinshares in a report released on Monday.

"Enormous amount of liquidity that has inflated some of these cryptocurrencies," said Sebastien Galy, senior macro strategist at Nordea Asset Management.

He expects crypto, also correlated to high-growth stocks, to come under pressure as several central banks tighten their monetary policy.

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