Bitcoin's 'Worst Month' Causes Turmoil in Cryptocurrency Lending Market

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Bitcoin, a representative cryptocurrency, is evaluated to have experienced the worst month in its 12-year history last month due to recession concerns and the cryptocurrency market turmoil caused by the collapse of Terra and Luna. On a quarterly basis, it also recorded the largest drop in over a decade.

On June 30 (local time), CNBC reported that Bitcoin's price fell more than 38% throughout June, marking its worst month. CNBC stated, "It was the worst since cryptocurrencies became available on exchanges in 2010," adding, "More than $2 trillion in value disappeared from the cryptocurrency market within a few months."

On the same day, Bloomberg News reported that Bitcoin recorded its worst quarter in over a decade. Bitcoin's price plummeted 58% in the second quarter of this year, marking the largest decline since the third quarter of 2011 when the cryptocurrency market was in its early stages. Bitcoin's price is currently fluctuating around the $20,000 mark. Consequently, the cryptocurrency market, which was valued at $3 trillion last November, has significantly shrunk to $900 billion.

The cryptocurrency market is undergoing turmoil. Since the beginning of this year, as recession fears have intensified and stock markets have plummeted, there has been a strong movement to avoid high-risk cryptocurrency investments. Moreover, the cryptocurrency market crash that began with the collapse of the Korean version of TerraUSD and Luna in May has further amplified investors' anxiety. According to Bloomberg, the number of active cryptocurrency users at Bank of America (BoA) has dropped by more than half, from 1 million in November last year to less than 500,000 in May this year.

As the cryptocurrency market experiences chaos, cryptocurrency lending platforms that triggered the market crash are also undergoing turmoil and restructuring. FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange led by 30-something billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, is reportedly close to finalizing an acquisition deal for the cryptocurrency lending platform BlockFi. CNBC, citing multiple sources, reported that this news came just a week after FTX provided BlockFi with an emergency credit line of $250 million. On the same day, Celsius, a cryptocurrency lending platform that raised bankruptcy concerns due to a sudden decision to halt user withdrawals, announced on its blog that it plans to consider strategic transactions and debt restructuring to resolve liquidity issues. Specific details were not disclosed.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.