Bitcoin, Ether fall along with all top 10 cryptos as investors await consumption index

Bitcoin and Ether fell during Asian trading hours on Friday, along with all the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Most Asian equities were down, despite Wall Street’s overnight performance, as investors anticipated the release of the Personal Consumption Expenditure Price index (PCE).

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Fast facts

• Bitcoin slid 2.35% to US$23,849 in the 24 hours to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong. Ether fell 1.02% to change hands at US$1,652, according to CoinMarketCap data.

• The rest of the top 10 cryptos also fell on the day, with Polkadot’s Dot as the biggest loser as it fell 3.67% to US$7.05, followed by Polygon’s Matic that lost 3.45% to US$1.35.

• The global cryptocurrency market capitalization decreased by 1.95% to US$1.09 trillion in the 24 hours to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, with total crypto market trading volume down by 6.33% to US$56.02 billion.

• Asian equities were down on Friday, despite Wall Street’s overnight uptrend, as investors anticipated the upcoming release of the PCE index – the Federal Reserve’s preferred price gauge that includes food and energy prices. The PCE is forecast to be up 4.9% year-over-year, compared to 5% in December.

• The Shanghai Composite slid 0.62% and the Shenzhen Component Index lost 0.81%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.68% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended the day 1.29% higher.

• European bourses rose for the second consecutive day, with Germany’s DAX 40 up 0.1% and the Stoxx 600 up nearly 0.3% despite Germany’s GDP shrinking 0.4% last quarter, twice the estimated 0.2% increase in GDP.

• Gold fell to US$1,820 per ounce on Friday and is set to close the week 1% lower, at its weakest price level this year, pressured by the upcoming PCE index and the release of minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s latest meeting that revealed a willingness to raise interest rates further.

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