Crypto Moves — Bitcoin, Ether plummets; TerraUSD announces recovery plan; Brazilian bank allows virtual currency transactions

Crypto Moves — Bitcoin, Ether plummets; TerraUSD announces recovery plan; Brazilian bank allows virtual currency transactions

RIYADH: Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency internationally, traded lower on Thursday, down 11.60 percent to $27,194 as of 08:10 a.m. Riyadh time. Ether, the second most traded cryptocurrency, was priced at $1,853, down 21.11 percent, according to data from Coindesk. TerraUSD, the so-called stablecoin which plunged in price this week, will be backed by reserves in the future, its co-founder said in a tweet on Wednesday, in an attempt to steady the cryptocurrency by adjusting its complex pegging mechanism. Stablecoins are digital tokens pegged to the value of traditional assets, such as the US dollar. They are popular in times of turmoil in crypto markets and are a common medium of exchange, often used by traders to move funds around and speculate on other cryptocurrencies. TerraUSD, also known as ‘UST’, slipped below its 1:1 peg to the dollar this week, roiling cryptocurrency markets already under pressure alongside tumbling stock markets. It dropped further to as low as 30 cents on Wednesday, before recovering to around 60 cents, according to the price website Coingecko. Prior to Monday, TerraUSD had a market cap of more than $18.5 billion and was the tenth-largest cryptocurrency. It has since lost more than half of that value