TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Celsius is getting colder, and not the temperature. The cryptocurrency company, with a recently opened office in Tampa, announced a pause on “all withdrawals, Swap, and transfers between accounts,” as the value of popular cryptocurrency bitcoin dropped below $25,000. Celsius opened a Tampa office in May.
It’s not the only virtual coin to fall in price. Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Monero, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Binance USD, Crypto.com, Tron, and FTX Token, to name a few, are all facing drops in value, according to CoinDesk, a site tracking cryptocurrency values.
While those cryptocurrencies were lower, DogeCoin, the meme cryptocurrency favored by Elon Musk was up, alongside some others.
In the past seven days, from June 7 to present, Bitcoin has fallen from a U.S. dollar value of $31,331.45 to a current price of $22,384.78. Its lowest value in the past week came Monday, when it dropped to $20,854.60 before recouping some value. However, the price remains in flux.
At its highest, Bitcoin was worth $68,991, in November 2021. Now, its value has fallen roughly 67%. According to reports by KTLA, the drop equates to about $2 trillion simply gone from the crypto market.
Crypto isn’t the only item to feel the bite as the market dips lower. The S&P 500 dropped over 20% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 876 by close of day on Monday. The 20% S&P drop signaled a bear market. The Associated Press reported prices worldwide fell, hitting “everything from bonds to bitcoin” across the globe.
As the market reacted to higher levels of inflation, which the AP said were fueling further economic uncertainties, Celsius chose to pause their customers’ ability to withdraw or transfer money from or between accounts. They said they were doing so “to put Celsius in a better position to honor, over time, its withdrawal obligations” and were putting community interests as a top priority.
“We are taking this necessary action for the benefit of our entire community in order to stabilize liquidity and operations while we take steps to preserve and protect assets,” Celsius said in a statement. “We are working with a singular focus: to protect and preserve assets to meet our obligations to customers. Our ultimate objective is stabilizing liquidity and restoring withdrawals, Swap, and transfers between accounts as quickly as possible.”
The company did not provide a timeline of when they will return to normal operations in the statement.