World’s richest bitcoin trader sees fortune halved in two months as crypto crashes

The world’s wealthiest bitcoin trader has lost almost $9 billion in two months as the cryptocurrency market crumbles.

The world’s richest bitcoin trader has seen their fortune crumble by over $US6 billion (almost $A9 billion) in just two months as the value of the cryptocurrency crashes.

Investors have been selling off their holdings after bitcoin slumped to an 18-month low on June 14, The Sun reports.

At one point, bitcoin, the world’s most popular crypto coin, fell as low as $US20,950 ($A29,915), according to coinmarketcap, but has since regained some ground.

The anonymous trader’s stake in bitcoin was valued at $11.5 billion ($A16.4 billion) at the start of April this year with a holding of more than 252,000 tokens, according to BitInfoCharts.

Today, at the time of writing, that holding is currently worth $US5.24 billion ($A7.48 billion), a loss of around $US6.26 billion ($A8.9 billion).

The mystery trader’s fortune peaked at more than $19 billion ($A27 billion) with some 288,000 BTC back in September 2021.

Since its all-time high in November last year at just under $US69,000 ($A98,500), bitcoin has plummeted 66 per cent, the Wall Street Journal reports.

It’s not the only cryptocurrency which has taken a tumble amid a global downturn in cryptocurrencies.

Ethereum and tether – the world’s second and third largest crypto coins respectively, have also plunged in recent weeks.

As bitcoin and other cryptocurrency markets fluctuate wildly, it highlights the perils faced by investors.

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Crypto fortunes have been wiped out. Picture: Justin Tallis/AFP

You can lose all of your money and as it’s unregulated, there’s no one to complain to if things go wrong.

Recent plunges have sparked fears about the long-term future of cryptocurrencies, and whether the market will ever recover.

The plunge in the crypto markets is a reflection of the concern in wider markets over inflation and interest rate rises, experts believe.

Adrian Lowery, financial analyst at Bestinvest, said: “These levels are a 20 per cent drop from bitcoin’s price on Sunday, and the lowest since December 2020, when bitcoin and other cryptos were soaring amid the ‘risk on’ euphoria of the mid-stage pandemic.

“The latest falls overnight were sparked by the same worries that have hit equity markets – a high inflation reading in the US on Friday and fears of steeper interest rate rises globally.”

Crypto traders can have sudden and unpredictable booms and busts – such as one trader who claimed he lost millions of dollars in just under five minutes.

The latest plunge follows a crypto crash at the start of December, shortly after bitcoin hit a record value of almost $US69,000 ($A98,500) in November.

One trader lost $US5 billion ($A7.1 billion) after the price of bitcoin plummeted in December, highlighting the risks of investing in crypto.

And in another recent blow to the market, Crypto.com users were unable to access funds due to “unauthorised activity” on some accounts.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and has been reproduced with permission