ISLAMABAD: Many Bitcoin billionaires and millions of investors appear in serious trouble these days as cryptocurrencies have lost more than $1 trillion worth market capitalization in the last two weeks amid the ongoing US-China cold war over mining of Bitcoin. Two weeks ago, the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies was more than $2 trillion which has dropped to around $1 trillion last week because of a tension going on between America and China over mining of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin alone has lost $655 billion market capitalization in two weeks while overall market capitalization of Ethereum too has dropped by $300 billion, from $550 billion two weeks back to $246 billion on May 24, 2021. Market value of other cryptocurrencies has also suffered a similar setback because of the US campaign against environmental problems associated with Bitcoin mining with coal-based energy in China which holds about 80 percent share in global mining.
Two weeks ago, the price of Bitcoin was fluctuating around $56,000 and by May 24, 2021, it has decreased to $35,000 amid frequent upward and downward fluctuations. Meanwhile, the value of Ethereum has dropped to $2100 on May 24, 2021, from $4440 two weeks back.
Details gathered by The Truth International revealed that many individuals who became billionaires in recent years just because of Bitcoin are in trouble these days as prices of the cryptocurrency have dropped substantially. For example, Brian Armstrong co-founded Coinbase exchange, one of the leading platforms for trading cryptocurrencies. Every day his company was processing more than $3 billion sale and purchase of cryptocurrency. As he held a 20 percent stake in Coinbase, his net worth exceeded $6 billion in Feb 2021, when Bitcoin witnessed an unprecedented increase in its demand and value.
In Feb 2021, Bitcoin was trading around $34,000 and its price sky-rocketed to above $63,000 in May 2021 when Tesla’s CEO and some other mega American companies invested billions of dollars in this leading cryptocurrency. Similarly, in 2017, Sam Bankman-Fried established Alameda Research and started trading in cryptocurrencies. Consequently, he became billionaire with $2.5 billion net worth in Feb 2021. Meanwhile, the net worth of Chris Larsen expanded from $2.9 billion to $17 billion in 2021 when cryptocurrencies witnessed a boom in prices. Chris Larsen introduced block chain technology and XRP, a cryptocurrency that changed his fortune in a few years.
Furthermore, Michael Saylor borrowed $650 in 2020 and purchased more than 70,000 Bitcoins, hence he too joined the list of Bitcoin billionaires in 2021. Moreover, Changpeng Zhao, a software developer, sold his house in Shanghai in 2014 and he established Binance in 2017 for facilitating trade of cryptocurrencies and became a billionaire in a short time. At present, Binance is one of the leading companies facilitating online sale and purchase of cryptocurrencies globally. Binance is also a leading platform for trading these currencies in Pakistan. In Europe, Binance has linked Bitcoin with debit cards, allowing a facility to Bitcoin holders to spend this currency through their debit cards. To sum up, many individuals who became billionaires in a few years just because of Bitcoin are facing a tough time these days as cryptocurrencies are constantly losing value amid ongoing cold war between the United States and America over mining of Bitcoin. Additionally, millions of investors and miners who joined the booming cryptocurrency business in 2021 are also worried about a massive decline in value of Bitcoin and other such currencies and waiting for an end to the ongoing cold war between America and China.
