Bitcoin rose back above the US$17,000 mark in Friday morning trading in Asia, helped by gains in U.S. equities overnight. Ether rose the most among the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. All on the top 10 list rose.
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Fast facts
- Bitcoin rose 2.29% to US$17,232 in the 24 hours to 8 a.m. in Hong Kong, while Ether added 3.92% to trade at US$1,280 according to CoinMarketCap data.
- All other cryptocurrencies on CoinMarketCap’s top ten list gained. XRP rose 2.8% to US$0.39, while Dogecoin added 2.86% to US$0.098. Polygon’s MATIC moved 3.52% higher to US$0.92.
- The global cryptocurrency market capitalization rose 2.24% to US$859 billion as of 9:30 a.m. in Hong Kong. Trading volume reached US$37 billion, up 0.48%.
- U.S. equities finished higher on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.13% and the S&P 500 Index finished 0.75% higher, ending its 5-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also gained 0.55%.
- The gains came on the back of a rise in jobless claims on Thursday, a slowing indicator for the economy that supports the view the U.S. Federal Reserve may reduce the pace and size of interest rate increases.
- The Fed has increased interest rates since March to try to slow inflation, raising from near zero to a 15-year high of 3.75% to 4%, and has signaled that rates may end up exceeding 5%.
- The Fed has said it wants inflation in a target range of 2%. The consumer price index showed inflation was running at 7.7% in October, down from 8.2% in September.
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