Bitcoin and Ether fell on Friday during Asian trading hours, along with the rest of the top 10 non-stable cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Solana native token recorded the biggest loss, following rumors of a possible ban on crypto staking for retail investors in the United States. Asian stock markets also weakened, mirroring Wall Street’s downtrend overnight, following mixed signals from US Federal Reserve officials on monetary policy.
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Fast facts
- Bitcoin fell 3.71% to US$21,899 in the 24 hours to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, and Ether was down 5.17% to US$1,551, according to CoinMarketCap data.
- The biggest loser of the day, the SOL token, lost 8.02% of its price to trade at US$21.06. Polkadot DOT posted the second biggest loss, down 7.85% to US$6.27.
- The global cryptocurrency market capitalization fell 3.84% to US$1.02 trillion within 24 hours as of 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, while the total trading volume in the crypto market rose 14.68% to US$74.79 billion.
- Asian stocks fell in line with Wall Street’s tumble overnight, caused by unclear signals on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s next move related to monetary policy after several Fed officials said further rises interest rates were to be expected.
- Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.31%, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.3% and the Shenzhen Component closed the day down 0.59%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 2.01%, to end at a near-month low.
- Crypto market assesses Thursday events at crypto exchange Kraken shut down on-chain staking services for US-based users to settle Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charges that alleged that two Kraken subsidiaries failed to register the offer and sale of their staking programs. The exchange agreed to pay US$30 million as part of the settlement.
- Coinbase Global CEO Brian Armstrong said Wednesday that the SEC could consider a broader ban on crypto staking for retail users in the United States, adding to fear in the markets.
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