Crypto lender Celsius pauses withdrawals amid 'extreme market conditions'

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) – Cryptocurrency loan firm Celsius Network announced Monday it is pausing all withdrawals, swap, and transfers between user accounts due to "extreme market conditions."

The company said that its decision is taken to meet its withdrawal obligations over time, while it is working to stabilize liquidity and protect assets.

"Our ultimate objective is stabilizing liquidity and restoring withdrawals, swap, and transfers between accounts as quickly as possible," the firm said in a statement.

Celsius users were able to deposit different cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, into a Celsius wallet to earn a yield, or take out loans by placing their cryptos as security.

The firm's announcement comes as the crypto market was down almost 12% as of 1123GMT in a major selloff, as the total value of the crypto market fell below $1 trillion for the first time in 17 months.

The company's token, CEL, lost a massive 51% in value by plummeting to $0.195 at the time, while it was trading at almost $1 a month ago.

Both Bitcoin and Ethereum, the world's two biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap, fell to $23,570 and $1,180, respectively, for a daily loss of more than 14%, and marking their lowest levels since January 2021.