Bitcoin, Ether fall; most top 10 cryptos rise following SEC’s lawsuit against Coinbase

Bitcoin and Ether fell during Wednesday afternoon trading hours in Hong Kong, while most of the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization strengthened. Most major cryptocurrencies increased in the past 24 hours, despite news of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suing Coinbase exchange a day after it initiated legal action against Binance.

See related article: Crypto industry reacts to SEC’s lawsuit against Binance

Top cryptos up despite SEC’s lawsuit against Coinbase

Bitcoin fell 1.15% from 6:50 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong to US$26,805. Ether fell 0.37% in the same timeframe, to US$1,874

The world’s first cryptocurrency increased 4.32% in the past 24-hours, despite news of the SEC suing Coinbase a day after it sued Binance. Ether strengthened 3.23%.

“The SEC’s crackdown on Coinbase signals a shift towards greater regulation of the cryptocurrency industry. This move could have significant implications for the future of cryptocurrency, as it may lead to increased scrutiny and oversight of digital assets,” Kadan Stadelmann, chief technical officer of blockchain infrastructure development firm Komodo, told Forkast in a statement. 

“It is clear that regulatory compliance will become increasingly important for cryptocurrency businesses moving forward, as they seek to navigate an evolving landscape of laws and regulations.”

Dogecoin was the day’s biggest gainer, up 4.4% to US$0.06947, followed by Bitcoin. Cardano’s ADA saw the biggest loss, falling 3.29% to US$0.3411.

The total crypto market capitalization over the 24 hours rose 2.92% to US$1.12 trillion, while trading volume rose 2.75 % to US$47.27 billion.

Ethereum NFT sales gain as Bitcoin NFT sales lose momentum

The Forkast 500 NFT index inched down 0.16% to 3,278.43 points in the 24 hours to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong while falling 4.18% during the week. 

Ethereum’s 24-hour NFT sales rose 31.32% to US$32.97 million, boosted by sales of Bored Ape Yacht Club that rose 1.35% to US$16.3 million and sales for the Mutant Ape Yacht Club that strengthened 2.62% to US$1.9 million. 24-hour sales for Art Block rose 11.6% to US$1.3 million, while Azuki sales dropped 36.99% to US$1.7 million.

Bitcoin’s 24-hour NFT sales declined 64.24% to US$3.4 million, as interest in Ordinals inscriptions temporarily subsided.

Among Forkast Labs NFT indexes, the Forkast POL NFT Composite was the only one in the green, rising 4.84% in the past 24 hours to 1,053.90 points.