Following Celsius’s announcement, Bitcoin hit an 18-month low of $23,476. The second largest cryptocurrency, the ether ETH, fell as much as 16% to $1,177, its lowest since January 2021.
Cryptocurrency markets have tanked in recent weeks as rising interest rates and surging inflation hurt riskier assets across financial markets. The May crash of the terraUSD and luna tokens also rocked the industry.
“It’s still an uncomfortable time, and there’s some risk of contagion around crypto in general,” said Joseph Edwards of fund management firm Solrise Finance.
Celsius offers interest-bearing products to customers who deposit cryptocurrency on its platform, and then lend cryptocurrency for a return.
In a blog post, the company said it had frozen withdrawals, as well as transfers between accounts, “to stabilize liquidity and operations while we take steps to preserve and protect assets.”
“We are taking this action today to put Celsius in a better position to meet its retirement obligations over time,” the New Jersey-based company said.