Bitcoin, Ether decline; memecoins fall back, XRP holds gains

Bitcoin and Ether fell in Thursday morning trading in Asia, along with all other cryptocurrencies on the top 10 list by capitalization, with the exception of XRP.  U.S. equities were weaker overnight as Federal Open Market Committee minutes released on Wednesday indicated interest rates in the U.S. will continue rising until inflation is brought under control.

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Fast facts

• Bitcoin was trading at US$23,347, off 2.16% in the past 24 hours as of 8 a.m. in Hong Kong, while Ether was down 2.2% at US$1,835, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
• XRP was the only cryptocurrency in CoinMarketCap’s top 10 to buck the trend, gaining 0.7% to US$0.38 after the token’s issuer, Ripple, was named among the Inc. 5,000 fastest growing private U.S. companies.
• Dogecoin saw the heaviest losses among the top 10, dropping 7.4% to US$0.08. Shiba Inu token also fell 6.5% to US$$0.00001478.
• The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee minutes from its July meeting — in which interest rates were raised 0.75% — showed Federal Reserve officials are unlikely to consider ending a spate of interest rate increases until inflation is back under control. Interest rates in the U.S. are currently around 2.25% – 2.5%, which the meeting participants generally agreed was a “neutral range.”
• Recent Consumer Price Index data did indicate U.S. inflation is easing, rising 8.5% on the year in July, down from the 9.1% seen in June.
• U.S. equities also pulled back yesterday; the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.5%, the S&P 500 Index lost 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite Index finished off 1.25%. Investors are also nervous about China’s economy amid slower-than-expected industrial output in July and a worrying downtrend in real estate prices.

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