Crypto

Billionaire crypto fortunes that swelled over the last two years are disappearing after a sell-off that began with tech stocks spilled over into digital ...

Trading volumes at Coinbase have steadily fallen since the beginning of the year, while more internationally focused Binance saw an uptick in volume last month. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, co-founders of rival crypto exchange Gemini, have each lost about $2.2 billion – or roughly 40 per cent – of their wealth this year. By Wednesday, that fell to $US11.6 billion, using the average enterprise value to sales multiples of Coinbase and Canadian crypto firm Voyager Digital as a basis for the calculations. Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, and ether have both fallen more than 50 per cent since their record highs late last year. There is “no risk of bankruptcy” even amid a “black swan” event and users’ funds are safe, said Mr Armstrong, the firm’s chief executive officer. Crypto exchanges in the US appear to be suffering more of a downturn than their global competitors.

The head of Australian-founded sustainable Bitcoin miner Iris Energy has remained unfazed by the cratering price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Similarly, Tether, the largest stablecoin with a market capitalisation of around $137 billion, appeared shaky, with its value uncharacteristically dipping slightly to 99.3 cents. There’s still only ever going to be 21 million of them, you still can’t stop it, no one can create more, no one can censor it. “If you zoom out and you look at Bitcoin, nothing’s changed. “I’d rather Bitcoin was higher, but it’s really not interrupting anything day-to-day,” he said. Compounding this are concerns from crypto market participants over the viability of so-called stablecoins, which are touted as being pegged to the US dollar and are viewed as a safe store of value away from the typical crypto volatility. Revenue was $20.2 million, up 445 per cent.