2023-03-24 13:14:24 ET
Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ), ethereum ( ETH-USD ) and other major cryptocurrencies slid in Friday afternoon as renewed concerns over the global banking system took hold after market participants turned their attention to Deutsche Bank ( DB ), the largest lender in Germany.
Overall, the global crypto market cap retreated 2.4% to $1.16T, according to CoinMarketCap data . Driving the slump was bitcoin's ( BTC-USD ) 1.9% drop to $27.81K and ether's ( ETH-USD ) 3.8% fall to $1.76K as of shortly before 1:30 p.m. ET.
Downward pressure across the crypto market was also spurred by Binance -- the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume -- temporarily halting all spot trading due to a bug.
Calling it a "temporary system maintenance," the platform said trading resumed at 2:00 p.m. UTC (10:00 a.m. ET), adding that withdrawals will resume shortly after spot trading starts, according to a release . Trailing stop order, however, will be paused "until further notice," it said.
Nonetheless, most crypto prices and crypto-related stocks still traded in the red. Riot Platforms ( RIOT ), -7.7% , Marathon Digital ( MARA ), -6.2% , Hut 8 Mining ( HUT ), -8.9% , and MicroStrategy ( MSTR ), -1.3% , were among the losers. Other catalysts supporting the bearish price action include growing regulatory scrutiny of the space.
Binance peer Coinbase Global ( COIN ), meantime, saw its shares rise 1.2% , after sliding in the premarket session, despite sell-side analysts calling for a bearish outlook for the exchange after receiving a Wells notice. Take a look at SA contributor Mike Fay's take on the situation.
The risk-off sentiment in crypto coincided with a weaker stock market as the jitters surrounding DB signaled that bank worries were not in the rearview mirror.
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Bitcoin, crypto-exposed stocks slide in wake of broader risk-off mood