Bitcoin slips, Cardano leads losses in top 10 cryptos

Bitcoin dropped in afternoon trading on Tuesday along with most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Ethereum rose further while Dogecoin led gains. 

See related article: Australian crypto exchange Swyftx to end interest yielding product, cites lack of regulation clarity

Fast facts

• Bitcoin slipped 0.04% in 24 hours to US$17,204 at 4 p.m. in Hong Kong on Tuesday, but remained above US$17,000. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization rose 2.83% in the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.
• Ethereum inched up 0.92% to US$1,323, after gaining 8.72% in the past seven days. Dogecoin rose 1.06% to US$0.07573, up by 5.32% in the past seven days. 
• Cardano was the biggest loser, falling by 3.28% to US$0.3152, after gaining 24.53% in the past seven days of trade. 
• BNB lost 1.32% to US$274 following reports that the U.S. Justice Department is intensifying its probe into Binance Global, the token’s issuer and the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. 
• Asian equity markets had a mixed day on Tuesday as investors turned cautious ahead of the release of key inflation numbers. The Shanghai Stock Exchange dropped 0.21% at day’s close and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.27%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.05% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.78%.
• Global equity markets are awaiting the December U.S. Consumer Price Index, a key inflation indicator, scheduled to be released on Jan. 12 and expected to reflect the Federal Reserve’s stance on future interest rate increases. Two Fed officials have reportedly said that the U.S. central bank may raise interest rates above 5% before pausing for some time.
• Economic “peak opportunity” might come late in the first quarter [of 2023], said Nigel Green, chief executive of financial advisory firm deVere Group, in a statement shared with Forkast. “Until then, unemployment will be rising and there will still be aggressive language from the central banks on the need to stamp out inflation – which by then will be sharply down from current levels – especially as demand for staff is falling fast. This will help ease wage inflation, but it will still be well above the 2% target set by the central banks.”
• See related article: Paycoin seeks reapproval after S.Korea suspends the payments token: report