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Not long ago, the crypto world was shocked and appalled to learn that Celsius – one of the crypto industry’s largest and most well-known crypto lenders – was halting withdrawals and preventing people from accessing their money as prices got much, much worse. Many people thought this was going to be the only instance of individuals’ not having access to their stashes, though now it looks like Babel Finance is following in the platform’s footsteps.
Babel Finance Is Halting Withdrawals
Babel – based in Hong Kong and boasting about 500 customers at the time of writing – made the announcement that it would not allow people to withdraw money from their accounts and that the company was issuing a temporary suspension on such activity. This is being done as the firm – like many others – deals with what has turned into a widespread selloff that is arguably contributing to the heavy decrease in crypto prices.
On its website, Babel announced the following:
The crypto market has seen major fluctuations, and some institutions in the industry have experienced conductive risk events. Due to the current situation, Babel Finance is facing unusual liquidity pressures.
Last May, the company was valued at a whopping $2 billion despite only allowing customers to lend and trade various stable currencies along with bitcoin and Ethereum.
The crypto space has seen heavy volatility in recent weeks, with bitcoin – the world’s largest and most popular digital currency by market cap – having lost roughly 70 percent of its overall value since last November when it was trading at a new all-time high of approximately $68,000 per unit. By contrast, the currency is now trading for just over $20,000 and has literally shed roughly five years’ worth of gains, as it is now just above the all-time high it achieved in 2017. It’s a sad and ugly sight, to say the least.
Celsius is a much bigger platform than Babel given that it has close to two million customers at press time. It decided to shut down all withdrawals out of concern stemming from what it called “extreme market conditions.”
So Much to Worry About
Many customers have shown great anxiety when it comes to gaining access to their funds. They worry about the future and wonder if they’ll ever see their money again. One user – who remains anonymous – says that she presently has about $105,000 trapped on the exchange, while another says that the company is withholding roughly two years’ worth of income from her.
The overall crypto market has shed trillions in recent weeks and is now valued at about $900 billion. There is also heavy concern surrounding Three Arrows Capital, otherwise called 3AC. The company has allegedly hired a legal team and is potentially facing as much as $400 million in liquidation. There are also reports of business partners being “ghosted” by the firm.
