Bitcoin, Ether fall with top 10 cryptos, XRP slumps
Bitcoin fell in Wednesday afternoon trading in Asia along with the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, with XRP holders suffering the steepest losses at 3.93%.
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Fast facts
- Bitcoin dropped 2.22% in the past 24 hours to trade at US$19,224.49 at 4 p.m. in Hong Kong, and 2.74% down so far in October.
- Bitcoin traders are still waiting for a substantial “Uptober” rise this month, as the coin gained in 10 out of the last 13 Octobers. There are positive signs of a potential bullishness to come, as some investors are predicting a possible establishment of a “bear market floor” after Tuesday’s 37,800 BTC outflow from crypto exchanges, the largest daily movement since June 17.
- Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, dropped 2.75% to US$1,300.05, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
- XRP was the biggest loser among the top 10 cryptos, dropping 3.93% to change hands at US$0.46 at the closing bell in Hong Kong, while Cardano slumped 3.74% to US$0.36 and Solana fell 3.51% to US$30.02
- These crypto losses follow news from Bloomberg that the European Union is considering a bill to grade cryptocurrencies by energy consumption and limit energy-intensive mining practices, like the proof-of-work system used by some major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, in favor of more energy-efficient consensus mechanisms, such as proof-of-stake.
- Asia equity markets were mostly negative despite Wall Street’s gains overnight. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.37%, while the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 1.19% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index slumped 2.75%.
- European markets also fell in morning trade, the FTSE100 down 0.39% and the pan-European Stoxx600 having dropped 0.30% by 10 a.m. in London. This follows the UK Office for National Statistics announcing the consumer price index for the year to September rose to 10.1%, a 0.2% increase to match July’s 40-year high CPI figure. Rising prices of transport (10.6%) and food (14.6%), as well as energy, were the primary contributing factors, the ONS said.
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