Bitcoin fell in Wednesday afternoon trading in Asia along with the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, with XRP holders suffering the steepest losses at 3.93%.
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Fast facts
- Bitcoin dropped 2.22% in the past 24 hours to trade at US$19,224.49 at 4 p.m. in Hong Kong, and 2.74% down so far in October.
- Bitcoin traders are still waiting for a substantial “Uptober” rise this month, as the coin gained in 10 out of the last 13 Octobers. There are positive signs of a potential bullishness to come, as some investors are predicting a possible establishment of a “bear market floor” after Tuesday’s 37,800 BTC outflow from crypto exchanges, the largest daily movement since June 17.
- Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, dropped 2.75% to US$1,300.05, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
- XRP was the biggest loser among the top 10 cryptos, dropping 3.93% to change hands at US$0.46 at the closing bell in Hong Kong, while Cardano slumped 3.74% to US$0.36 and Solana fell 3.51% to US$30.02
- These crypto losses follow news from Bloomberg that the European Union is considering a bill to grade cryptocurrencies by energy consumption and limit energy-intensive mining practices, like the proof-of-work system used by some major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, in favor of more energy-efficient consensus mechanisms, such as proof-of-stake.
- Asia equity markets were mostly negative despite Wall Street’s gains overnight. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.37%, while the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 1.19% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index slumped 2.75%.
- European markets also fell in morning trade, the FTSE100 down 0.39% and the pan-European Stoxx600 having dropped 0.30% by 10 a.m. in London. This follows the UK Office for National Statistics announcing the consumer price index for the year to September rose to 10.1%, a 0.2% increase to match July’s 40-year high CPI figure. Rising prices of transport (10.6%) and food (14.6%), as well as energy, were the primary contributing factors, the ONS said.
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