Crypto coins at 2-year low on FTX contagion fear

Cryptocurrencies extended declines as Binance’s potential takeover of embattled rival exchange FTX highlighted how strains in the digital-asset industry are now buffeting some of its top players.
Bitcoin, the largest token by market value, fell 8% on Wednesday after a 11% decline a day earlier and was trading at about $17,430 late on Wednesday. Tuesday’s low was the least since November 2020. Just about every digital coin was struggling: Ether, Solana, Polkadot and Avalanche all dropped.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao stunned the cryptoworld on Tuesday with an announcement that his firm was moving to take over rival FTX. com, which suffered a liquidity crunch after Zhao announced that he was selling a $530-million holding of FTX’s native token.
Traders cited a Zhao tweet that a letter of intent between the two parties is nonbinding as contributing to the market turmoil. Investors are on edge about spreading contagion given the pivotal role FTX and its co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried played in the industry.