Could Recent Crypto Crash Hurt Global Financial System?: Report

ndtv.com:

Does the cryptocurrency crash pose a threat to the financial system?

Bitcoin fell briefly below $30,000 for the first time in 10 months on Tuesday, while cryptocurrencies overall have lost nearly $800 billion in market value in the past month, according to data site CoinMarketCap, as investors fret about tightening monetary policy.

Compared with the Fed's last tightening cycle which began in 2016 crypto is a much bigger market, raising concerns about its interconnectivity with the rest of the financial system.

How Big Is The Cryptocurrency Market?

In November, the most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin, hit an all-time high of more than $68,000, pushing the value of the crypto market to $3 trillion, according to CoinGecko. That figure was $1.51 trillion on Tuesday.

Bitcoin accounts for nearly $600 billion of that value, followed by ethereum, with a $285 billion market cap.

Although cryptocurrencies have enjoyed explosive growth, the market is still relatively small.

The U.S. equity markets, for example, are worth $49 trillion while the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has pegged the outstanding value of U.S. fixed income markets at $52.9 trillion as of the end of 2021.

Who Owns And Trades Cryptocurrencies?

Cryptocurrency started out as a retail phenomenon, but institutional interest from exchanges, companies, banks, hedge funds and mutual funds is growing fast.

While data on the proportion of retail versus institutional investors in the crypto market is hard to come by, Coinbase, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, said institutional and retail investors each accounted for about 50% of the assets on its platform in the fourth quarter.

Its institutional clients traded $1.14 trillion in crypto in 2021, up