Cryptocurrencies steadied after the woes of the TerraUSD stablecoin triggered a flight from many popular digital tokens.
Bitcoin climbed back to about $29,000 on Thursday, from its lowest point since 2020. Tokens such as Avalanche and Solana, which underpin some key decentralised finance protocols, posted double-digit percentage gains.
The TerraUSD stablecoin was still below it $1 intended peg, while affiliated token Luna struggled. Overall, the cryptocurrency sector is nursing heavy losses for the week and sentiment remains fragile.
“UST’s collapse undercuts confidence in all liquidity protocols,” said Aaron Brown, a cryptocurrency investor who writes for Bloomberg Opinion.
“If UST can fail, maybe Aave can too. Sort of like when Bear Stearns failed, it focused people’s attention on whether Lehman would fail.”
The TerraUSD algorithmic stablecoin — also known as UST — has been bouncing between 20 cents and 90 cents and was at about 75 cents as of 10.35am in Singapore.
Backers of the coin are trying to raise about $1.5 billion to shore up the token after it crashed from its dollar peg, according to the founder of a company that was approached about the deal.
“Is the market getting spooked by what is happening with Terra? The answer is yes,” said Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Sandler.
“Money-market funds are important to investors and right now, we are questioning the third-largest money-market fund in crypto land. People did not think we were going to break the buck on that and that has clearly happened.”
Cryptocurrency sentiment was also hurt by elevated US inflation, which points to aggressive interest-rate increases — an unfavourable environment for risk assets.
Marcus Sotiriou, an analyst at UK-based digital-asset broker GlobalBlock, said there was “extreme fear” across the cryptocurrency market.
James Malcolm, head of foreign exchange and crypto research at UBS, said the area around $30,000 had been an “especially sensitive zone” for Bitcoin.
That is where mining economics turn negative, “which could potentially lead to increased coin sales by this key cohort”, Mr Malcolm said.
Meanwhile, Coinbase shares and bonds fell to new lows on Wednesday, signalling investor scepticism about the prospects of the cryptocurrency exchange in a bear market.
The company reported lower-than-expected revenue yesterday, and issued a warning that trading volume and the number of monthly transacting users in the second quarter are expected to be lower than in the first.
Piper Sandler‘s Mr Johnson said that is another concern for cryptocurrency investors right now as “it is the largest exchange here in the United States and they just turned a loss”. He said Terra’s troubles are all “snowballing in crypto land.”
Still, a lot of cryptocurrency investors, cognisant that Bitcoin has gone through a boom-and-bust cycle before only to recoup losses over and over again, are preaching patience.
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West Ham 2-3 Tottenham
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton
Bournemouth 1-2 Wolves
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Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool
Everton 0-2 Norwich City
Watford 0-3 Burnley
Manchester City v Chelsea, 9.30pm
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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