Business / Investors lost $748 billion as cryptos fell 33% in past week: Data

New Delhi: As Bitcoin along with other prominent cryptos such as Ethereum, Dogecoin, Cardano, Binance Coin, etc. dropped significantly during the last seven days, demonstrating the volatility they are plagued with, the total value of 7,459 cryptos (tracked) plummeted 33 per cent from nearly $2.25 trillion as of May 16 to $1.50 trillion at the time of filing report, as per data from CoinGecko. The decline led to a staggering $748 billion loss for crypto investors. Bitcoin’s price had contracted 27 per cent during the week from $48,696 to the week’s lowest at $34,224 before a slight increase to $35,487 while Ethereum dropped 46 per cent from $3,730 to near $2,000, and Dogecoin by 39 per cent from 52 Cents to 31 Cents.

The decline had led to a global sell-off of cryptos across major crypto exchanges following multiple events. This included Elon Musk’s tweets last week on “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel,” and on Sunday suggesting that Tesla would sell its Bitcoin holdings or may have sold it already – in response to a tweet with the handle @CryptoWhale. However, on early Monday, Musk clarified that Tesla “has not sold any Bitcoin.” Later, China had announced a ban on its financial and payment service providers from offering cryptocurrency services.

China’s move to ban banks and financial institutions from offering services to cryptocurrency firms will have a dampening effect on crypto prices and market cap in the short term. Currently, altcoins and meme coins are rising at the expense of bitcoin. Sooner than later, the frenzy about meme coins would fizzle out. Ethereum prices are expected to move as a function of the value they bring to the payments, central banking system, and enterprises whereas Bitcoin would continue to have wild swings in the short term,” Sharat Chandra, Blockchain Expert, IET Future Tech Panel had told Financial Express Online.

The way cryptocurrencies have swayed with Musk’s tweets in the recent past has, in fact, baffled many. As a result, to counter his outsized influence on cryptos’ prices, new crypto called $STOPELON was created. “Elon Musk is infamous for irresponsibly manipulating the cryptocurrency market with his Twitter account. Just recently, he did it again, causing a massive crash across all frontiers when he tweeted that Tesla will cease to accept Bitcoin as payment. Anyone with even a shred of critical thinking sees through his lies…He’s toying with people’s portfolio like candy, like the narcissistic billionaire he is and always will be. We say ENOUGH. Hence, we created $STOPELON. Where we get rich, without anyone controlling our fate except ourselves,” the website for the new altcoin read.