Crypto’s Liquidity Troubles Are Spreading Across Platforms
A broad-based selloff in digital assets and the collapse of high-profile tokens TerraUSD and Luna have caused ripple effects across the crypto industry.
(Bloomberg) -- A broad-based selloff in digital assets and the collapse of high-profile tokens TerraUSD and Luna have caused ripple effects across the crypto industry.
A wave of liquidations triggered fear of contagion risks. Major lenders Celsius Network and Babel Finance have frozen withdrawals, and Three Arrows Capital, a major crypto hedge fund, is facing liquidity troubles that rattled investors.
Total market value of cryptocurrencies, which topped $3 trillion in November, has dropped to $991 billion, according to data from CoinGecko.
Below are the latest developments from the crypto fallout.
DeFi Startup Kyber Discloses Treasury Exposure
The head of Kyber Network, a decentralized trading platform, said the company had “a small portion” of Treasury exposed to the troubled crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, and had not received a response about tokens held with the fund.
“We have tried talking to them but no responses so far. We are taking legal action,” Loi Luu, chief executive officer of Kyber, said on Twitter. Kyber said it can sustain its development for many years. Luu did not immediately respond on Friday when asked whether a lawsuit had been filed.
Three Arrows’ law firm, Solitaire LLP, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Crypto Yield Firm CoinFlex Pauses Withdrawals
Crypto physical futures exchange CoinFlex said it paused all withdrawals on its platform, citing “extreme market conditions” last week and “continued uncertainty involving a counterparty,” without disclosing the name. The firm said that the counterparty isn’t Three Arrows Capital or any lending firm.
Founded in 2019, CoinFlex is a smaller crypto exchange focusing on derivatives trading. CoinGecko shows that it currently supports 34 crypto pairs for derivatives. The exchange’s investors include Roger Ver, one of the most vocal Bitcoin Cash advocates.
CoinFlex provided an estimated time for withdrawals of June 30. A company representative said in an email to Bloomberg that it is “working towards a solution to resolve the situation and resume withdrawals,” and will communicate with customers, counterparties and partners in a transparent manner. CoinFlex’s website said its next update will be on June 27.
Voyager Digital Sets Limits on Withdrawals
Crypto brokerage and exchange Voyager Digital Ltd. is limiting customer withdrawals from its platform to $10,000 and to 20 transactions during a 24-hour period.
The New York-based firm, which secured credit lines of $485 million in the past week from Alameda Research to shore up protection for customer assets, announced the limits on its website. This week, it disclosed exposure of about $660 million in loans to the troubled crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, sending shares plunging as analysts raised the prospect of further damage.
Voyager shares trading in Toronto have plunged 95% this year.
Crypto Lender Nexo Taps Citigroup for M&As
Nexo, a crypto lender that has positioned itself as immune to the storms shaking decentralized finance, said it had hired Citigroup Inc. to advise on potential acquisitions.
The lender said it was seeking “best-in-class advice” from the bank, including on “liquidity restructuring deals,” according to a blog post dated June 22.
Nexo has made an unsolicited offer to acquire assets of its competitor Celsius, which has frozen investor withdrawals. The offer “didn’t come to fruition,” a Nexo spokesperson said in an email. Citigroup declined to comment.
(Adds Kyber’s news, comment from CoinFlex)
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