"I was probably earning $100 a week," at sites like Celsius, said Fong, a 29-year civil aerospace worker who lives in the central English city of Derby. "That covered my groceries."

Now, though, Fong's crypto - about a quarter of his portfolio - is stuck at Celsius.

The New Jersey-based crypto lender froze withdrawals for its 1.7 million customers last week, citing "extreme" market conditions, spurring a sell-off that wiped hundreds of billions of dollars from the paper value of the cryptocurrencies globally. 

Fong's long-term crypto holdings are now down about 30%. "Definitely in a very uncomfortable position," he told Reuters. "My first instinct is just to withdraw everything," from Celsius, he said.

The Celsius blow-up followed the collapse of two other major tokens last month that shook a crypto sector already under pressure as soaring inflation and rising interest rates prompt a flight from stocks and other higher-risk assets. 

Bitcoin fell below $20,000 on June 18 for the first time since December 2020. It has plummeted around 60% this year. The overall crypto market has slumped to around $900 billion, down from a record $3 trillion in November.

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