Image: Bitcoin prices fell after the SEC sued Binance. AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
TOPLINE
Shares in crypto and blockchain companies and the prices of major cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether have slumped after U.S. regulators accused the world’s largest crypto trading platform Binance and its founder of weaving an “extensive web of deception” and mishandling investors’ assets, the latest blow to the sector after a string of high-profile failures and crashes.
KEY FACTS
The price of bitcoin, by far the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was trading at $25,710 early Tuesday morning, down about 4% from the day before.
Ether, second only to bitcoin in terms of market capitalization, was trading at nearly $1,816 on Tuesday, down almost 3% from the same time Monday.
The prices of other top tokens, many named as securities in the lawsuit, also plunged in the last 24 hours, including Ripple’s XRP, down around 5%, Cardano’s ada (6%), dogecoin (7%), Solana’s sol (7%) and Polygon’s Matic (7%).
The value of Binance’s own token, Binance Coin (BNB), which was also named in the lawsuit and has a market value of nearly $50 billion, is down about 8% from Monday.
Stock for many crypto and blockchain firms—the technology underpinning the digital currencies—also fell following news of the regulator’s crackdown.
Shares of Coinbase, the U.S.’ largest crypto exchange and one of Binance’s biggest rivals, were down around 9% at market close on Monday, as were shares for bitcoin mining firms Riot Platforms (9%) and Marathon Digital (8%).