Bitcoin and Ethereum prices rose in Wednesday afternoon trading in Asia along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, with XRP leading gains.

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Fast facts

  • Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, gained 1.44% to US$17,455 at 4 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon in Hong Kong. Ethereum inched up 0.92% to US$1,335 and has gained 6.74% in the last seven days of trading, according to CoinMarketCap data.   
  • XRP led gains at 4.17% to US$0.3621 after rising 3.65% in the past seven days. The gain comes amidst Ripple Labs Inc.’s statement that it expects a court decision in the first half of 2023 for the case filed against it by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission. 
  • Dogecoin strengthened 1.74% to US$0.07707 while Polygon’s Matic token rose 1.61% to US$0.8604. 
  • Most Asian equity markets rose on Wednesday with China reopening its border from a strict Covid-zero policy. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index inched up 0.49%, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.35% while the Shanghai Stock Exchange dropped 0.24% at day’s close. 
  • Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.03% in Wednesday trade after its CPI data showed that year-on-year inflation in December rose faster than expected, rising by 4%. 
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