The price of Bitcoin slid to just $US15,680 ($21,767) on Tuesday morning, the lowest level in over two years for the cryptocurrency. And most people expect the price to continue to fall substantially as traders worry the fallout from the implosion of FTX, once the second largest crypto platform in the world, could have more casualties.
FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11, less than a week after rival CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao from Binance tried to sell over $US500 ($694) million of FTX’s native crypto token FTT. CZ wasn’t even able to cash out the token due to lack of liquidity at FTX, accidentally exposing the fact that none of these cryptocurrencies are actually worth anything. FTT is currently trading at $US1.26 ($2), down 97% from a year ago when it was trading at over $US50 ($69).
FTT wasn’t the only digital currency created by former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried for his companies FTX and Alameda Research. The so-called “JP Morgan of crypto,” as CNBC liked to call him, also created another token called Serum, which was used like real currency rather than the Monopoly money it actually was. In fact, FTX listed $US2.2 ($3) billion “worth” of Serum on its balance sheet before it imploded, according to the Financial Times. Serum is currently trading at $US0.23 ($0), down 12% on the day and down 95% from a year ago.
FTX was previously valued at $US32 ($44) billion, but it took just a week for that to crash to nothing, causing ripple effects that are still being felt across the crypto landscape. As one example, the crypto company Gemini, is reportedly struggling to raise cash and warns it could file for bankruptcy in the future. Gemini had roughly $US175 ($243) million in an FTX account, according to Bloomberg News, money it’s unlikely to ever see again.
Other major cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin also slumped Tuesday morning, including Ethereum, which is currently trading at $US1,085 ($1,506), down 2.78% from 24 hours earlier, and down 74% from a year ago. Binance’s BNB crypto, the third most popular coin, is trading at $US254 ($353), down 1.3% from 24 hours ago and down 55% from a year ago. XRP is trading up 3.6% on the day at $US0.36 ($0), but still down over 65% from a year earlier.