Bitcoin and Ethereum reverse losing streak as Celsius files for bankruptcy

Bitcoin reclaimed the US$20,000 support line in the early-Thursday trade, adding 3% against the day to creep up to US$20,104.

Ethereum also recovered lost ground after performing poorly throughout the week, climbing 4.48% to US$1,105.

Global market cap was up 2.57%, just missing out on breaking the US$900bln barrier by under a percentage point.

The decentralised finance (DeFi) space is on a roll, with Lido DAO up 25.12%, Curve up 14.77% and Aave up 13.38%, while the US$300mln derivatives platform Synthetix broke into the top 100 with a 12.33% rally.

Total value locked across all DeFi platforms rose 2.28% to break above US$74bln.

Ethereum’s premier decentralised exchange (DEX) Uniswap rallied 11.83%, increasing its market capitalisation to over US$4.5bln.

Among today’s biggest losers, Bitfinex’s LEO token fell 2.75%, play-to-earn token GALA dropped 2.13%, and the Kava blockchain shed half a percent.

Latest headlines

Celsius has finally caved and filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, dashing users’ hopes of ever getting back their locked-up funds.

“Celsius has initiated a financial restructuring process to provide the company with the best opportunity to stabilise the business and consummate a comprehensive restructuring transaction that maximises value for all stakeholders,” the company said in a press release.

Cash continues to pour into blockchain investments despite the bear market, with the Chinese government now getting in on the action.

The Shanghai’s Economy and Information Technology Committee announced a US$1.5bln metaverse fund as part of a wider post-coronavirus initiative “for accelerating economic recovery”.

The South African Reserve Bank is ramping up crypto regulation with new legislation set to bring digital assets under the scope of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA).