Bitcoin, Ether, Forkast 500 NFT index rise; gold nears year-high over banking sector concerns
Bitcoin and Ether rose during Asian trading hours on Friday, along with most of the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, with Litecoin posting the biggest gains. Most Asian equities declined, after Hong Kong’s central bank warned of a potential spillover from the U.S. banking crisis. Concerns over the health of the banking system also bolstered gold prices to near a year-high.
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Fast facts
Bitcoin rose 1.92% to US$28,195 in the 24 hours to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong. Ether gained 3.16% to change hands at US$1,809, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Most of the top 10 cryptos also rallied on the day, with Litecoin rising 6.95% to US$93.88 as the day’s biggest gainer, followed by Ether. XRP fell 4.42% to US$0.43, as the day’s biggest loser.
The global cryptocurrency market capitalization increased by 1.7% to US$1.18 trillion in the 24 hours to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, with total crypto market trading volume down by 19.6% to US$54.47 billion.
The Forkast 500 NFT index rose 0.44% on the day to 4,124.20 points, and inched up 0.7% on the week.
Most Asian equities weakened on Friday, despite Wall Street’s overnight uptrend, reflecting investor caution after the Hong Kong central bank warned of further spillover effects from U.S. regional banks.
The Shanghai Composite slid 0.64% while the Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.25%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.13% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended the day 0.67% lower.
European bourses fell on Friday in light of lingering concerns over the health of the banking sector and the possibility of further monetary tightening. The Stoxx 600 fell 1.06% and the DAX 40 lost 1.43%.
The European banking index lost 1% on the day. UBS Group’s stock (UBSG) fell 5.28% while shares of Credit Suisse (CSGN) declined 5.82%, following reports that the U.S. Justice Department is probing the banks to determine if they helped Russian oligarchs evade sanctions.
Gold slid 0.15% to US$1,990 an ounce, close to a one-year high, as investors were concerned over the health of the banking system and continued to digest the impact of the Federal Reserve’s widely-expected 25 basis points rate hike.
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