Bitcoin rose during Asian trading hours on Thursday, the only gainer in the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Crypto investors expressed concern over reports that Binance concealed its ties to China for years. Binance has denied the allegations. Most Asian equities strengthened, mirroring Wall Street’s overnight rally, as global investor sentiment picked up while concerns over a systemic banking failure seemed to ease.
See related article: Bitcoin passes US$28,000, Binance accused of hiding Chinese links
Fast facts
- Bitcoin rose 0.88% to US$28,709 in the 24 hours to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, as the day’s biggest gainer. Ether fell 0.68% to US$1,806, according to CoinMarketCap data.
- Ripple’s XRP fell 5.81% to US$0.53 to become the day’s biggest loser, but still gained 18.58% on the week. Solana’s SOL token fell 2.45% to US$20.94, as the day’s second-biggest loser.
- The global cryptocurrency market capitalization increased by 0.28% to US$1.19 trillion in the 24 hours to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, with total crypto market trading volume up by 14.87% to US$52.05 billion.
- The Forkast 500 NFT index slid 0.28% to 3,995.60 points on the day and lost 2.69% on the week. The index is a proxy measure of the performance of the global NFT market and includes 500 eligible smart contracts on any given day.
- Most Asian equities strengthened on Thursday in line with the S&P 500 that rose 1.42% during the day. Investor morale received a boost from Chinese Premier Li Qiang who said that China’s economy would be better in March than during the previous two months, as the country expands its domestic markets and business sector.
- The Shanghai Composite rose 0.65% and the Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.62%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.58% to exceed a three-week high while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.36%.
- European bourses picked up on Thursday, as investors digested data showing that consumer confidence in the Euro area slipped 0.1 points, in line with preliminary estimates, but remained near its highest level in over a year. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.95% and Germany’s DAX 40 gained 1.15%.
- Gold rose 0.17% to around US$1,967 per ounce, as global fears of a systemic banking failure continued to ease.
- Global investors are looking to the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index data on March 31 for signals on the Federal Reserve’s upcoming monetary decisions, while European investors anticipate the release of the Eurozone Consumer Price Index on the same day.
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