Bitcoin and Ether fell during Asian trading hours on Thursday, along with all top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Asian equities weakened, in line with Wall Street’s downtrend, following remarks from Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari on a potential, larger interest rate hike.
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Fast facts
- Bitcoin fell 1.47% to US$23,416 in the 24 hours to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong and Ether slid 0.56% to change hands at US$1,644, according to CoinMarketCap data.
- The rest of the top 10 cryptos also fell on the day with Solana’s Sol – the day’s biggest loser – falling 2.81% to US$21.99, followed by Polygon’s Matic that lost 2.62% to US$1.22.
- The global cryptocurrency market capitalization decreased by 1.31% to US$1.07 trillion in the 24 hours to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, with total crypto market trading volume decreasing by 4.36% to US$45.41 billion.
- Asian equities declined on Thursday, mirroring Wall Street’s overnight downtrend after hawkish remarks from Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari, who said that he was “open to the possibility” of a larger interest rate hike this month after 10-year treasury yields rose to 4% for the first time since November.
- The Shanghai Composite slid 0.051% and the Shenzhen Component Index lost 0.54%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.92% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.064%.
- European stocks also fell, with Germany’s Dax 40 dipping 0.39% and the Stoxx 600 inching down 0.54%, as investors anticipated the release of Eurozone flash inflation and unemployment data and minutes of the European Central bank’s latest policy meeting. Investors are expecting a 50 basis point interest rate hike this month, and another similar hike in May.
- Inflation in The Netherlands, Europe’s fifth-largest economy, stood at 8.9% in February, up from 8.4% in January, mainly driven by food prices that increased 15% from February 2022.
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