Bitcoin is rising; Ether, Other Top 10 Cryptos Fall Amid New Binance Allegations

Bitcoin rose in Asian trading hours on Thursday, the only gainer among the 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Crypto investors expressed concern over reports that Binance hid its ties to China for years. Binance has denied the allegations. Most Asian stocks rallied, mirroring Wall Street’s overnight rally, as global investor sentiment picked up while concerns over a systemic banking failure appeared to ease.

See related article: Bitcoin Passes USD 28,000, Binance Accused Of Hiding Chinese Links

Fast facts

• Bitcoin rose 0.88% to US$28,709 in the 24 hours to 16:30 in Hong Kong, the biggest gainer of the day. Ether fell 0.68% to $1,806, according to CoinMarketCap data.

• Ripple’s XRP fell 5.81% to $0.53 to become the day’s biggest loser, but still rose 18.58% on the week. Solana’s SOL token fell 2.45% to USD 20.94 as the second biggest loser of the day.

• The global cryptocurrency market capitalization rose 0.28% to $1.19 trillion in the 24 hours to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, with total crypto market trading volume up 14.87% to $52.05 billion.

• The Discard 500 NFT index fell 0.28% to 3,995.60 points on the day and lost 2.69% for the week. The index is a proxy measure of the performance of the global NFT market and includes 500 eligible smart contracts on a given day.

• Most Asian stocks rallied on Thursday in line with the S&P 500 which rose 1.42% on the day. Investor morale was boosted by Chinese Premier Li Qiang who said China’s economy would improve in March from the previous two months as the country expands its domestic markets and business sector.

• The Shanghai Composite rose 0.65% and the Shenzhen Component Index rose 0.62%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.58% to surpass a three-week high, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.36%.

• European stocks rallied on Thursday, as investors digested data showing euro zone consumer confidence fell 0.1 point, in line with preliminary estimates, but remained near the highest level in more than a year. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.95% and Germany’s DAX 40 rose 1.15%.

• Gold rose 0.17% to around $1,967 an ounce, as global fears of a systemic banking failure continued to ease.

• Global investors are looking to the March 31 US personal consumption price index for signals about the Federal Reserve’s upcoming monetary decisions, while European investors are anticipating the release of the Eurozone Consumer Price Index on the same day.

See related article: Hong Kong may license at least 8 crypto firms by the end of the year: former SFC regulator