JPMorgan team says crypto markets face 'cascade of margin calls'

[superadmin]

SINGAPORE (Nov 10): Crypto markets face weeks of deleveraging in the fallout from the crisis at digital-asset exchange FTX.com, a period of upheaval that could push bitcoin down to US$13,000 (RM61,155), according to JPMorgan Chase & Co strategists.

A "cascade of margin calls" is likely underway given the interplay between the exchange, its sister trading house Alameda Research, and the rest of the crypto ecosystem, a team led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a note.

"What makes this new phase of crypto deleveraging induced by the apparent collapse of Alameda Research and FTX more problematic is that the number of entities with stronger balance sheets able to rescue those with low capital and high leverage is shrinking" in the crypto sphere, the team said on Wednesday.

Digital-asset investors are still coming to terms with the rapid unravelling at FTX.com and the concerns swirling around Alameda Research, both founded by 30-year-old Sam Bankman-Fried. There are fears that the potential bankruptcy of FTX.com could lead to contagion that takes down other crypto outfits.

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