Bitcoin remained stuck below a US$19,000 ceiling in Monday afternoon trading in Asia as concern about inflation and rising interest rates prompted selling across most asset classes. XRP slipped but remained well ahead for the week. Ether and all the other top 10 coins by market capitalization lost ground, with Solana logging the largest fall.
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Fast facts
- Bitcoin slipped 0.98% in the past 24 hours to trade at US$18,909 at 4 p.m. in Hong Kong, while Ether lost 2.45% to US$1,297, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
- XRP reversed gains in the morning to fall 3.28% to US$0.4731. The token is still up 35.16% over the past seven days, driven by developments in the lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and XRP issuer Ripple Labs Inc. XRP jumped last week amid reports a summary judgment may be reached to end the lawsuit without a trial.
- Solana slid 4.17% to US$32.48, making it the biggest loser among the top 10, followed by Dogecoin’s 3.76% drop.
- Asia equity markets tumbled, extending the losing streak from Friday, on global concerns about inflation, higher interest rates, and the war in Ukraine. The Nikkei 225 fell 2.66% to a two-month low, while South Korea’s Kospi index tumbled 3.02%. The Shanghai Composite index lost 1.2%, and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index lost 0.44%.
- The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city’s de facto central bank, last week raised its base rate by 75 basis points, following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s move to raise rates to rein in inflation. The central banks of the Philippines and Taiwan also announced rate hikes last week.
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