Litecoin Witnesses Biggest Loss of the Day as Bitcoin and Ether Decline
Bitcoin and Ether, along with other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, fell by the end of Asian trading hours on Friday. The slump was caused by the financial struggles of US crypto-focused bank Silvergate Capital Corp. This led to a 4.3% drop in Bitcoin to $23,402 and a decline of 4.49% in Ether to $1,569, according to CoinMarketCap. Meanwhile, Litecoin’s Ltc token was the day’s biggest loser, losing 8.52% to $89.05, followed by Dogecoin, which fell 6.3% to $0.075. The global cryptocurrency market capitalization decreased by 3.81% to $1.03tn in the 24 hours to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, but the total crypto market trading volume increased by 22% to $55.42bn.
Investors were boosted by doveish remarks from the US Federal Reserve, hinting a potential stop to interest rate hikes this summer. Asian equities strengthened with Wall Street’s overnight rally, after Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic supported a rate increase of 25 basis points, saying the central bank may pause hikes during the summer.
China’s service sector growth accelerated in February after Covid-19 restrictions were relaxed, according to data that investors are digesting. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.54%, the Shenzhen Component Index inched up 0.02%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.56% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index strengthened 0.68%. Europe’s STOXX 600 rose 0.4% and Germany’s DAX 40 gained 0.8%, buoyed by the US Fed’s soft tone. The euro stood above $1.06, despite the European Central Bank signalling incoming rate hikes with hawkish remarks.
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