FirstFT: Crypto market’s $1tn sell-off

Good morning and welcome. In today’s newsletter:

• Crypto sell-off slashes $1tn from market value

• HSBC board at odds over candidates for chair

• Lawrence Summers to scale back public roles after Epstein ties

• Overhaul at Larry Ellison’s science initiative in Oxford

We begin with the cryptocurrency market, where more than $1tn has been wiped out in the past six weeks as concerns about lofty tech valuations and the path of US interest rates have fuelled a sell-off in speculative assets.

What we know: The value of 18,000 coins tracked by data provider CoinGecko has tumbled 25 per cent since the peak last month, wiping about $1.1tn from their combined capitalisation.

Bitcoin has also shed a quarter of its value over the same period, leaving the world’s biggest cryptocurrency trading at its lowest level since April and flat for the year.

Losses for traders in large leveraged bets over the past month have accelerated the pace of the selling, analysts say.

Market turn: The decline marks a stark reversal for the digital assets, which had previously soared to record highs on President Donald Trump’s pledge to make the US the world’s “bitcoin superpower”. Read the full story.

Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:

• Germany: Chancellor Friedrich Merz and France’s President Emmanuel Macron co-host the European Digital Sovereignty summit in Berlin.

• Spain and Ukraine: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez hosts President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Madrid.

• US-Saudi ties: President Donald Trump hosts Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House.

• Results: Bertelsmann, Home Depot, Imperial Brands, Klarna and RTL report earnings.

Five more top stories

1. Exclusive: HSBC’s board is at odds over who should progress as a candidate to become its next chair, as Europe’s largest lender tries to find a replacement for Mark Tucker following his surprise exit this year. Read about the top contenders for one of banking’s most challenging roles.

2. Exclusive: Former US Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers said he would step back from public commitments after documents showed he asked late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for advice on pursuing an extramarital relationship with a female mentee. Read the full report.

3. Exclusive: Larry Ellison’s £10bn science initiative in Oxford is undergoing an overhaul, as the tech billionaire scales back ambitious plans to create a world-leading research institute in the UK. The cancellation of key programmes has led to a leadership rift and staff departures.

4. Several big European defence companies are preparing to float on public markets as the industry seeks to capitalise on enthusiasm that has sparked a rally in the sector this year. Here are the companies exploring initial public offerings.

5. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK will today outline plans to save £25bn a year in an alternative Budget by focusing on cutting support to EU citizens living in the country and aid to some of the poorest people in the world. Read more on the proposals.

Join FT experts on November 28 at 1pm London time to analyse how UK chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget will affect the economy. Subscribers can here for this exclusive event.

News in-depth

Crumbling bridges, mismatched rail gauges and labyrinthine bureaucracy remain significant hurdles to moving military assets across Europe. Transporting troops from ports in the west to countries bordering Russia or Ukraine would take almost seven weeks. Here is how Nato is addressing Europe’s “military mobility” problem.

We’re also reading . . . 

• 1990s nostalgia: Huge improvements in the decades since are a reminder that even really knotty problems can get better, writes Sarah O’Connor.

• ‘Infernal circle’: The Labour government needs to decide and explain what sort of immigration it wants for the UK.

• G20 makeover: Johannesburg’s beautification campaign for this week’s summit has left the dysfunctional city’s residents angry, especially over the R194mn ($11mn) set aside for hosting the event.

• Anyone for tea?: The revival of the classic British brand Mr Kipling, invented by an ad agency in the 1960s, has led to Premier Foods’ recovery, writes John Gapper.

Chart of the day

China’s GDP figures have drawn scrutiny for years but that has intensified amid a property slowdown and reduced transparency. The unreliable data has pushed economists and researchers to look for proxy measures for the economy.

Take a break from the news . . . 

In Paris, a coffee revolution is percolating. In most neighbourhoods, you can find micro-roasteries and shops championing state-of-the-art brewing techniques. Meet the pioneers reimagining the French capital’s café society.