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The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 13th (local time) that the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies (virtual currency) has evaporated by more than $1 trillion (about 1284 trillion won) in just six months as concerns about risky assets grow.
Bitcoin and Ethereum recorded all-time highs of $67,802 and $4800, respectively, in November of last year, but have fallen 58% and 60%, respectively, from their peaks as of the 13th.
As a result, over $1 trillion in cryptocurrency market cap has disappeared in the past six months. The market cap has halved from its previous high. As of the 13th, the cryptocurrency market cap is about 1.2 trillion dollars.
Cryptocurrency reached an all-time high last year when Tesla bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin and Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, went public on the New York Stock Exchange.
In particular, major coins, including Bitcoin, have been mentioned as inflation hedges.
However, recently, the price of Terra USD (UST), a stablecoin issued by Korea’s Terra, has collapsed, pulling down the entire cryptocurrency market.
In the past week, Bitcoin, the No. 1 market cap, has plunged 16.54%, Ethereum, the 2nd largest by market cap, by 22.96%, and Binance Coin, the 5th largest by market cap, by 22.23%, respectively.
In this context, the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, is pushing for an aggressive rate hike to keep inflation at its highest level in 40 years.
As a result, investors are taking out risky assets such as cryptocurrencies and stocks from their portfolios (investment composition) one after another, the WSJ reported.
sinopark@news1.kr
