Bitcoin and Ether traded higher in Wednesday afternoon trading in Asia, as the two biggest cryptocurrencies in the top 10 by market capitalization made up some marginal ground from the recent slump. Dogecoin fell, marking a 20% loss over the past seven days.
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Fast facts
- Bitcoin rose 0.3% in the past 24 hours to trade at US$21,321 as of 4 p.m. in Hong Kong, while Ethereum gained 2.04% to US$1,627, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
- Bitcoin and Ether are still in slow recovery mode from Friday’s sharp drop that at one stage drove Bitcoin below US$21,000. Bitcoin lost 10.52% over the past seven days, and Ethereum is down 14.13% in the same period.
- Dogecoin, the biggest loser over the past week, was trading lower at US$0.06742, down 0.84% in the prior 24 hours.
- Asia equity markets fell. The Shanghai Composite index lost 1.86%, and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index slid 1.2%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.49%.
- In a recent report, the International Monetary Fund said cryptocurrencies are showing an increasing correlation with Asian stock markets.
- China’s power outages, property market debt and unemployment continue to haunt markets. In Japan in August, factory activity growth slowed to a 19-month low, and activity in the services sector contracted for the first time in five months.
- Investors also need to factor in the meeting at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where U.S. and other central bankers will get together for an annual symposium starting on Aug. 25. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to make a keynote speech at the event on Friday, which could provide signals on the direction of U.S. interest rates.
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