Crypto lender Celsius stops withdrawals, fuelling Bitcoin selloff

Crypto markets slumped after the Celsius announcement, with Bitcoin dropping as much as 10% to the lowest level since December 2020. Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

Crypto lender Celsius Network Ltd. paused withdrawals, swaps and transfers on its platform, fuelling a broad cryptocurrency selloff and prompting a competitor to announce a potential bid for its assets.

Crypto markets slumped after the Celsius announcement, with Bitcoin dropping as much as 10% to the lowest level since December 2020 and other major tokens like Ether also falling sharply. Celsius’s CEL token was down 51% to 18.9 cents as of 2:11 p.m. in Hong Kong, according to pricing data site CoinGecko.