Bitcoin rises, most top 10 cryptos fall, amid mixed signals on the state of the banking sector

Bitcoin rose while Ether and most of the other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies fell during afternoon trade in Asia on Monday. US and European shares strengthened while Asian stocks were mixed, after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned of potential financial stability risks in the wake of the banking crisis. US investors saw some relief after North Carolina-based First Citizens BancShares bought all the loans of the failed Silicon Valley Bank.

See related article: Cryptocurrencies bounce back despite interest rate hike

Fast facts

• Bitcoin rose 1.01% to US$27,806 in the 24 hours to 16:00 in Hong Kong. The world’s first cryptocurrency hovered around US$28,000 for most of last week amid looming concerns of a potential banking crisis.

• Ether fell 0.12% to $1,752 in the same time frame, giving it a weekly drop of 2.48%.

• Bitcoin saw the biggest gains of the day, followed by Binance’s BNB token which rose 0.62% to change hands at $326.24. Cardano’s ADA saw the biggest drop, falling 1.81% to $0.35.

• The global cryptocurrency market capitalization rose 0.32% to $1.16 trillion in the 24 hours to

• The Negotiated 500 NFT index fell 1.49% to 4,021.44 points, losing 2.68% 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.

• US investors’ worries about a banking crisis were partially eased after First Citizens BancShares, the parent company of First Citizens Bank, bought all the loans and deposits of the failed Silicon Valley Bank, resulting in a 0.56% gain for the S&P 500.

• Asian shares were mixed on Monday, after IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned on Sunday that risks to financial stability had increased following a crisis in the banking sector in the US and Europe earlier this month. Georgieva also said global growth will slow to just 3% this year due to war in Ukraine, Covid-19-related restrictions and monetary policy tightening to tackle sticky inflation.

• The Shanghai Composite fell 0.44% while the Shenzhen Component Index rose 0.12%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.33% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.75%.

• European stocks rallied after a sharp sell-off last week, led by gains in the banking sector. The benchmark STOXX 600 rose 0.97% and Germany’s DAX 40 rose 1.11%.

• Gold fell 0.45% to $1,968 an ounce on Monday, after testing the $2,000 mark several times last week. The US dollar is struggling to recover from a seven-week low, after St. Louis Fed President James Bullard clarified last Friday that the US central bank is planning further monetary policy tightening.

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