The fallout from the demise of cryptocurrency exchange FTX kept bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies under pressure on Monday, with market participants concerned about large withdrawals from Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com.
Crypto.com announced on Twitter that its CEO, Kris Marszalek, will go live on YouTube to answer questions about some platform transactions that have sparked speculation and fund withdrawals. A lot has happened in the last week, and there are a lot of questions that we want to address, according to the exchange.
An user who dug through transactions after the company posted its cold wallet addresses online raised concerns about a large transfer of ether tokens from Crypto.com to another platform last month. While Marszalek tweeted that the ether, worth approximately $400 million, had been accidentally transferred and recovered, his comments did not assuage fears in a market already on edge following FTX’s spectacular public collapse last week.
Withdrawals at Crypto.com increased over the weekend as a result of Marszalek’s tweet, according to the Wall Street Journal. Twitter users pointed to other transfers and exchanges between smaller platforms as evidence that they were relying on one another to shore up reserves.
Bitcoin fell below $16,000, extending its monthly losses to 22.5%, while FTX’s token was at $1.60, down 94% in November. Cronos, a token on Crypto.com, has halved in value in the last week, falling to $0.06.
In reality, all businesses are being evaluated on their ability to meet their obligations and adhere to compliance controls. The market is demanding concrete evidence. Rather than assuming that parties acted in good faith.
Crypto.com is one of the top ten exchanges in the world by turnover, but it is smaller than FTX and market leader Binance. It made headlines in 2021 after signing a $700 million deal to rename Los Angeles’ Staples Center the Crypto.com Arena and enlisting actor Matt Damon to promote the platform.
In the meantime, the fallout from the bankruptcy of Bahamas-based FTX, which declared bankruptcy on Friday following a rush of customer withdrawals and a failed rescue deal with rival exchange Binance, has continued to have an impact on markets.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force said on Sunday that the Bahamas securities regulator and financial investigators are looking into potential wrongdoing in the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
