The markets for digital money stabilized in the middle of the week after Tuesday's price shock.

Bitcoin, as the market's largest and oldest so-called cryptocurrency, cost around 18,000 US dollars on Wednesday morning. The day before, the price had collapsed to around $ 17,000 after significant losses. That was the lowest level in two years. Other cryptocurrencies like ether were also dragged down but also stabilized on Wednesday.

The turbulence was triggered by renewed concerns about the stability of the comparatively young sector. Following reports of liquidity problems at major trading venue FTX, rival Binance announced a partial takeover of the competitor. Accordingly, there are said to have been significant outflows of funds from investors at FTX. The FTX-owned crypto value FTT has since collapsed drastically by around 70 percent.

Consumer advocates regularly point out the high risk of these systems. If you want to invest in Bitcoins and other crypto assets, you have to be aware of the large price fluctuations and possibly also expect a total loss.