Bitcoin and Ether fell in Wednesday afternoon trade in Asia, along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. U.S. equities fell on Tuesday while treasury yields rose sharply, as investors weighed in higher interest rates in the world’s largest economy and recessionary pressures.
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Fast facts
- Bitcoin fell 3.7% to US$24,079 in 24 hours to 4 p.m. in Hong Kong on Wednesday, but it gained 8.82% on the week. Ethereum lost 3.57% to US$1,644, but rose 6.23% in the last seven days, according to CoinMarketCap.
- Solana and Polygon’s Matic token were the biggest losers in the top 10 cryptos, with both down by 8.55% on the day. Matic fell to US$1.35 and Solana declined to US$23.81. But both made gains on the week, with Matic up 8.96% and Solana 10.46%.
- Asian markets declined on Wednesday. The Shenzhen Component Index dropped 0.57%, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.47%.
- Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.34%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.51% on Wednesday. Hong Kong presented its 2023/24 budget on Wednesday and announced measures to boost economic recovery dampened by the Covid-19 restrictions.
- “[Hong Kong’s] 2023-24 Budget is a positive signal of continuing planning and investment for a smart and sustainable city, which will open the way for a rapid digital transformation of the local market,” Daniel Cham, general manager for Workday Greater China, said.
- Wall Street posted its worst performance of the year on Tuesday, as tech stocks saw a widespread decline. The S&P 500 fell 2% and the Dow Jones Industrial (DJI) slid 2.06%.
- European equity markets are heading for a lower open on Wednesday due to global economic uncertainty and another potential rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Germany’s DAX 40 lost 0.3% while Stoxx 600 futures were down around 0.5%.
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