Bitcoin, Ether slip; XRP slumps; Hang Seng Index touches 11-year low in Hong Kong

Bitcoin and Ether prices fell in Monday evening trading in Hong Kong amid widespread losses among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, with BNB being the sole gainer. In equity markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index at one stage fell to the lowest level in 11 years.

See related article: Markets: Bitcoin price falls below US$19,000, XRP down, BNB only gainer in crypto top 10

Fast facts

• Bitcoin lost 0.46% in the past 24 hours to US$19,205.45 at 4 p.m. in Hong Kong, though still up 1.61% over the previous 7 days, while Ether fell 1.50% to trade at US$1,292.31, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

• XRP slumped 7.08% to change hands at US$0.4423. However, the slide slowed amid reports that two companies, I-Remit Inc. and TapJets Inc., submitted requests to be amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) in support of Ripple Labs Inc. – who’s payment network is powered by XRP – in its court case against the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• Solana fell 1.80% to US$32.25 and Cardano lost 2.02% to trade at US$0.422. BNB, the native cryptocurrency of the Binance exchange, was the sole gainer among the top 10, rising 1.52% to $285.86

• Asia equity markets were mixed following lows on Wall Street on Friday. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index fell at one stage to its lowest since October 2011, before rallying slightly to close off 0.83%. This gain followed the announcement that the stock exchange plans to launch yuan-denominated stock trading by the first half of 2023. Japan’s Nikkei 255 gained 1.07%, while the Shanghai Composite Index was closed along with all other China markets for the Golden Week holiday.
• Worries over inflation mounted in international markets as a string of record lows were recorded, with the S&P 500 having closed out September with a 9.3% loss, the worst monthly decline since March 2020. This slump was also reflected in European markets, with Credit Suisse leading losses after shares tanked 10% in morning trading, raising questions about a potential “Lehman moment.”

See related article: Two firms seek to weigh in on XRP lawsuit between SEC, Ripple