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Crypto-Market Panic Subsides With Prices, Tether Stabilizing
Crypto-Market Panic Subsides With Prices, Tether Stabilizing · Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- On Wednesday, the implosion of the TerraUSD stablecoin kindled wide-spread panic in the crypto space. But 24 hours later, things have calmed down significantly.

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Terraform Labs halted, restarted and then halted again its Terra blockchain in the wake of the collapse of TerraUSD and its related Luna token. Developers who work on the blockchain said in a tweet posted to their verified Twitter account that the second halt was intended to enable them to “come up with a plan to reconstitute” the network. Both TerraUSD (UST), the algorithmic stablecoin that lost and never regained its 1-1 peg to the US dollar, and the associated Luna token were trading near zero at the time of the second halt.

But elsewhere in crypto sentiment had started to rebound. Tether, the largest stablecoin used in cryptocurrency markets to facilitate trading, recovered from an earlier mini-crash, soothing concerns that its troubles might spill into the broader market.

Read more: Tether Takes Victory Lap After Stablecoin Regains Peg

Tokens underpinning key decentralized finance protocols also advanced. Even ApeCoin rallied, advancing more than 35% in 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.com.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, traded above $30,000 after falling to about $25,000 in the previous day’s trading. And some alternative coins also gained, with Bitcoin Cash adding 20% at one point before paring gains.

It’s a remarkably more positive picture from the havoc that overtook crypto markets on Wednesday as UST entered a “death spiral”. That day, Bitcoin had suffered a nearly 10% drop.

Read more: ‘Everything Broke’: Terra Goes From DeFi Darling to Death Spiral

“The fact that Tether is stabilizing means that the margin calls that took place are fading,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. “Whenever you get forced selling in anything, it overshoots. People are still nervous, but the selling has abated. Investors will be nervous for a few more days, but the supply-demand equation has stabilized again.”

Market-watchers noted that Bitcoin, which typically trades in tandem with the stock market, was able to gain on Thursday even as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 sunk 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, meanwhile, said Terra’s tumble showed the dangers of tokens that purport to be pegged to the US dollar, though she added that its implosion didn’t pose a threat to financial stability.


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