Cryptocurrencies fell heavily on Tuesday and the native token of crypto exchange FTX collapsed by 15 per cent as investors appeared to take fright at talk of pressure on FTX’s financials.

Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency by market value, was down 4pc at $19,750 and was having its worst day in about two months. Ether, the next largest, fell 5pc.

FTX has come under pressure after the head of rival exchange Binance said on Sunday his firm would liquidate its holdings of the FTX token due to unspecified “recent revelations”.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried said the exchange was “fine” and that concerns were “false rumours”. The firm had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters on Tuesday.

However, the FTX token was last down about 15pc at $18.76 and figures from analytics firm Nansen showing a one-day net outflow from FTX of about $630 million suggested account holders were also getting their money out.

“With FTT headed south, below a major support level … (there are) massive withdrawals out of FTX, across multiple assets,” said Justin d’Anethan institutional, sales director at digital asset firm Amber Group.

“It seems like investors are selling assets or withdrawing them out — probably will be a messy week.”

Crypto enthusiasts had raised questions on Twitter last week about FTX’s token, following a report from news website CoinDesk about a leaked balance sheet from Alameda Research, a trading firm founded by Bankman-Fried that has close ties with FTX.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the accuracy of the report or the origin of the leaked balance sheet, but it seems to have at least rattled fragile market confidence.

“On-chain analytics show hundreds of millions being withdrawn from FTX over the last day,” said Matthew Dibb, chief operating officer of Singapore-based crypto investment manager Stack Funds.

“The question of solvency of FTX has been raised given recent events this year … however, we don’t see any hard data as yet that would confirm this type of view.”

Follow Dawn Business on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

Back in parliament
Updated 27 Jul, 2024

Back in parliament

It is ECP's responsibility to set right all the wrongs it committed in the Feb 8 general elections.
Brutal crime
27 Jul, 2024

Brutal crime

No effort has been made to even sensitise police to the gravity of crime involving sexual assaults, let alone train them to properly probe such cases.
Upholding rights
27 Jul, 2024

Upholding rights

Sanctity of rights bodies, such as the HRCP, should be inviolable in a civilised environment.
Judicial constraints
Updated 26 Jul, 2024

Judicial constraints

The fact that it is being prescribed by the legislature will be questioned, given the political context.
Macabre spectacle
26 Jul, 2024

Macabre spectacle

Israel knows that regardless of the party that wins the presidency, America’s ‘ironclad’ support for its genocidal endeavours will continue.