Bitcoin has crashed to its lowest level since December 2020 after one of the crypto-economy's largest lenders, Celsius Network, suspended withdrawals on Sunday.
Blaming "extreme market conditions", Celsius has moved to suspend all withdrawals, Swap, and transfers between accounts.
"We are taking this necessary action for the benefit of our entire community in order to stabilise liquidity and operations while we take steps to preserve and protect assets," the company wrote in a memo to users. "There is a lot of work ahead as we consider various options, this process will take time, and there may be delays."
Celsius, which was valued at $3.25 billion on a $750 million Series B financing round in November, allows its 1.7 million users to deposit their bitcoin, ethereum and tether and receive weekly interest payments.
In the wake of the move, bitcoin slipped a further 12% to trade just above the $24,000 mark.
The announcement comes amid an ongoing slide in the value of multiple crypto-currencies following the collapse of Terraform Labs’ Luna and its sister token UST last month.