Bitcoin withdrawals temporarily suspended in volatile day for crypto market

The cryptocurrency market has endured another day of volatility as the Binance exchange temporarily suspended bitcoin withdrawals and the total value of the digital asset market dipped below $1tn (£820bn), after a cryptocurrency lender stopped customers from taking back their funds.

The total value of the cryptocurrency market fell below $1tn after the sell-off, according to the data site CoinMarketCap, which had valued the market at almost $3tn in November.

Occasionally, that strategy has resulted in large losses: a hack of the decentralised investment platform BadgerDAO that wiped out that project was revealed to have cost Celsius $50m in bitcoin.

Cryptocurrencies have also been swept up in a market panic over rising inflation and higher interest rates, which has dulled the appetite for higher-risk assets.