Bitcoin and Ether dropped slightly during Asian trading hours on Thursday afternoon, with XRP leading losses across the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
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Fast facts
- Bitcoin slipped 0.67% over the past 24 hours to change hands at US$16,545 by 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, and Ether lost 0.23% to US$1,193, according to CoinMarketCap.
- XRP was down 3.08% to US$0.3466 while Cardano slipped 2.52% to US$0.2449.
- TRX, the cryptocurrency of the second largest decentralized finance (DeFi) blockchain Tron, was up 0.8% to US$0.05417.
- Asia equity markets retreated following Wall Street’s overnight losses. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.94%, the Shanghai Composite Index inched down 0.44%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed 1.09% lower.
- The Shanghai Composite Index has fallen for three consecutive days despite China withdrawing its zero-Covid policy. There are concerns that China’s reopening could cause a surge in global coronavirus infections and spark restrictions. The U.S. has required air passengers from China to show negative Covid test results, while Italy has ordered swabs on arrivals for travelers from China.
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