Coinbase, America's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, laid off 1,100 people, or 18 per cent of its workforce, last week in preparation for a "crypto winter". Celsius Network, a crypto fund manager allocating $30 billion (£24 billion) for 1.7 million small investors at its height, froze withdrawals amid fears it could soon file for bankruptcy. Rival Babel Finance followed on Friday, freezing all accounts due to "unusual liquidity pressures". The Securities and Exchange Commission, meanwhile, launched an inquiry into insider trading at top crypto exchanges.