MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle expressed little sympathy for crypto investors crushed by this week’s collapse in the value of digital coins.
“If you lose your shirt, hope you find a six-pack,” Ruhle said.
A former investment banker, the host of “The 11th Hour”, also told crypto investors not to expect any government help or relief, saying they only blame themselves for buying the volatile currency on more traditional assets. .
“Let’s remember: The whole basis of crypto is privacy. It’s decentralization. It’s not ‘go at me. I don’t want government. I don’t want establishment,’ so it’s too much ‘buyer beware’ [situation]she said, in comments reported by news site Mediaite.
The cryptocurrency crashed on Thursday following the collapse of so-called stablecoin TeraUSD, with bitcoin falling to a 16-month low of around $25,400. Crypto assets have also been swamped in widespread selling of risky investments over concerns of high inflation and rising interest rates.
Ruhle said the collapse of the crypto market is different from the 2008 recession, when large investment firms went under and needed to be bailed out by the government.
“You won’t have institutions at risk here, but millions and millions of individuals, many of whom have never invested in the markets, many of whom have borrowed to make big bets in crypto, have lost enormous amounts of money. So what’s going to happen?” Ruhle said.
“Will people turn around and say, ‘The government needs to help me. I should get bail for this’?”
Sentiment is particularly fragile, as tokens pegged to the dollar have faltered.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by total market cap, bounced back above $30,000 on Friday – still a long way from last November’s all-time high of $68,000.
The digital coin is well below the week-ago level of around $40,000 and is heading for its seventh consecutive weekly loss until there is a rally in the weekend trading.
Crypto-related stocks have risen, with shares at broker Coinbase stabilizing overnight, but down half in less than a week.