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22/11/2022

Coinbase Stocks Touch Lowest Since Debut Over Investor Fears Of FTX Collapse Contagion




Coinbase Stocks Touch Lowest Since Debut Over Investor Fears Of FTX Collapse Contagion
Right at the beginning of this week, shares of crypto exchange Coinbase touched its lowest value since its IPO was launched in April 2021, as the trend of the slide of the stocks continued.  
 
The 8% slide in its shares on Monday comes as bitcoin's slump continues, and investors are concerned about the spread of the spectacular collapse of FTX earlier this month.
 
Coinbase has fallen below the $10 billion mark, losing more than a quarter of its value in the last four trading sessions, nineteen months after going public with a market cap of over $85 billion.
 
Concerns about the health of FTX's rival exchanges have sparked industrywide sell-offs, causing some companies to temporarily suspend trading and others to prepare for potential bankruptcy filings.
 
According to Mizuho analysts, daily volumes in the industry are trending 30% to 40% lower than their year-to-date average.
 
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated on November 11 that his company has "no material exposure to FTX," but he feels "sympathy for everyone involved." Year to date, Coinbase shares are down more than 83%.
 
“It’s stressful any time there is potential for customer loss in our industry, and a lot of people are losing a lot of money as a result of FTX’s struggles,” Armstrong said.
 
On Friday, Bank of America downgraded Coinbase, citing "contagion risk" for the cryptocurrency exchange platform, despite the fact that it is not "another FTX."
 
“That does not make them immune from the broader fallout within the crypto ecosystem,” wrote Bank of America’s Jason Kupferberg.
 
Prior to FTX's demise, the market was in the grip of a crypto winter, which had sent bitcoin and ethereum prices plummeting and forced a number of firms into bankruptcy. Coinbase reported a $545 million loss and a revenue drop of more than 50% in the third quarter compared to the same period last year earlier. The cryptocurrency exchange laid off 18% of its employees in June.
 
The subsequent sell-off has been even more severe, with bitcoin falling more than 3% to its lowest level in over two years on Monday, and ethereum falling more than 6%. Solana, a coin promoted and supported by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, has lost more than two-thirds of its value in just two weeks.
 
FTX went from a $32 billion valuation to bankruptcy in a matter of days as liquidity dried up, customers demanded withdrawals, and rival exchange Binance ripped up its nonbinding agreement to buy the company. On November 11, FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
 
Two days before he was desperate for a rescue, Bankman-Fried said the company's assets were "fine." In subsequent tweets, he has stated that he is attempting to recover deposits for the company's customers.
 
(Source:www.coindesk.com) 

Christopher J. Mitchell

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