Bitcoin retreats above $28,000 as US stocks rise as Treasury eases banking concerns

Bitcoin bounced back above US$28,000 on Friday morning in Asia amid a rally in all top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies and gains in stocks overnight. The market shrugged off the latest warnings from US regulators to crypto platforms. Litecoin led the gains. US stocks rose on Thursday after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she would take “further action” to protect customer deposits if necessary, following a series of bank failures this month.

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Fast facts

• Bitcoin rose 3.19% to US$28,225 in the 24 hours to 09:00 a.m. in Hong Kong, gaining 13.02% for the week, according to CoinMarketCap data. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is up 70% so far this year.

• However, US dollar to Bitcoin liquidity is deteriorating due to the closure of crypto-friendly banks such as Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank this month which reduced access to US dollar payment services. Bitcoin liquidity fell to a 10-month low in March, according to a chirping of the crypto data platform Kaiko on Friday.

• Ether climbed 4.12% to $1,811, a weekly gain of 8.54%.

• Litecoin was the biggest gainer in the last 24 hours, gaining 7.07% to $92.86 and up 18.09% for the week. The next halving event of the token is scheduled for August this year, and previous halvings have tended to be preceded by price gains.

• The US SEC issued an investor alert on Thursday to advise on the risks in “crypto asset securities”, stating that some crypto investment service providers are not complying with federal securities laws, adding to the escalating conflict between US regulators and crypto firms.

• The total crypto market capitalization rose 3.36% in the last 24 hours to $1.19 trillion. Total trading volume in the last 24 hours fell 19.78%% to 55.26 billion USD.

• In the non-fungible token (NFT) market, the Forkast 500 NFT index rose 0.21% to 4,120.05 points as of 09:30 in Hong Kong. The index is a proxy measure of the performance of the global NFT market and includes 500 eligible smart contracts on a given day. It is managed by Forkast’s sister company, CryptoSlam.

• US stocks closed higher on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.23%, the S&P 500 rose 0.30%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.01%.

• The rise in stocks followed Janet Yellen’s testimony to the US Congress on Thursday, reaffirming that the Treasury Department would take further measures to safeguard bank deposits if necessary. This the day after she withdrew from offering a blanket backstop for troubled banks.

• On the inflation front, following the Federal Reserve’s 25 basis point rate hike on Wednesday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at a news conference that the Fed’s target of bringing annual inflation to the 2% range remains firm and interest rates will be raised. as necessary to achieve this.

• The Fed’s next meeting on interest rates is May 3. Analysts at CME Group expect a 65.8% chance that the Fed will keep interest rates at 4.75% to 5%. The chance of another increase of 25 basis points is 34.2%, down from 49.4% on Wednesday.

• Ahead of the opening of US stock markets on Thursday, stock futures rose as of 09:00 in Hong Kong. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.06 percent. S&P 500 futures rose 0.08%. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.01 percent.

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