Bitcoin and other cryptos spiral lower as worries about the fallout from FTX's troubles grow

• Bitcoin and most cryptos extended losses Wednesday as worries built about the FTX fallout.
• Sol plunged 31% and the crypto market cap dropped 11% on fears the troubles would spread.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies extended their losses Wednesday as worries built that the FTX troubles that led to Binance's bailout could spread to other big digital-asset players.

In a stunning turn of events, FTX CEO Sam-Bankman Fried announced Tuesday that the crypto exchange had agreed to be taken over by rival Binance. The emergency deal sent chills through the crypto world, reviving fears about liquidity risks that could lead to company collapses.

Cryptocurrency prices fell across the board Wednesday, building on losses logged the previous day after the announcement. The overall value of the crypto market dropped over 11% to $871 billion over the last day, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Bitcoin fell 10% in the last 24 hours to $17,724 — its lowest level in a year — while other large tokens such as cardano also sank. Ether lost 19%, while Solana's sol crashed 31% and meme crypto dogecoin dropped 16%.

Fears about contagion risks and insolvency have swirled in the crypto world since a report last week said Alameda Research — a crypto trading firm overseen by Bankman-Fried — was heavily exposed to FTX's native token FTT.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said on Twitter Tuesday the deal was to "help cover the liquidity crunch" at FTX — which revived fears about risks to other industry players, like those seen last summer when Three Arrows Capital imploded from its exposure to failed stablecoin Terra.

"This is a major setback for many investors in cryptos who viewed SBF as a white knight and one of the leaders in the space that was supposed to thrive once we got beyond this crypto winter," OANDA analyst Ed Moya said.

"Many crypto companies will likely be vulnerable to further selling pressure here, given the current macro backdrop, but that probably won't deter a lot of the institutional money that is still coming in or or is locked into the space," he added.