Crypto holds steady amid global market rout
By Jenni Reid
11:00, 19 August 2021
Cryptocurrency markets were not spooked by the global stock market rout on Thursday morning, sparked by signs that the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) will reduce its pandemic stimulus measures before the end of the year.
European stocks fell by 1.8% on the news, while sterling was down 0.5% to a one-month low against the dollar.
The two biggest cryptocurrencies, bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), were down between 0.5% and 2% over the previous 24 hours through the morning, but the global crypto market was broadly stable just after midday BST, down 0.17%.
Cardano (ADA) – the fourth-biggest cryptocurrency, according to Coinmarketcap.com – was up 6.4% to $2.08.
Crypto rise
The Chainalysis Insights report on global cryptocurrency adoption, published on Wednesday, found cryptocurrency adoption soared by 881% over the past year, and by 2,300% since the third quarter of 2019, although growth stalled in the second quarter of 2021.
The report showed adoption was being driven by high usage in emerging markets, where people are increasingly using cryptocurrencies to protect their savings, send and receive remittances and make business transactions, also by institutional investors in North America, Western Europe and East Asia.
Yesterday, Facebook’s financial services head, David Marcus, announced via a memo that the social media giant was ready to market a digital wallet. This would be tied to its own Diem cryptocurrency (formerly called Libra), which will allow consumers to make online payments without transaction fees.
Read more: Bitcoin analysis: will the coin advance to ,000?
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