Bitcoin and Ethereum prices fell during Tuesday afternoon trading in Asia along with most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies. Dogecoin was the exception in that list as it rebounded from its morning losses.
Fast facts
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell 2.89% to US$22,971 over 24 hours to 4 p.m. in Hong Kong, posting a 0.39% drop in the past seven days, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Ethereum dropped 3.05% on Tuesday afternoon and 3.53% for the week to trade at US$1,577.
Solana and Polygon posted the biggest losses among the top 10 cryptos. Solana fell 5.21% to US$24 and has dropped 3.11% in the past seven days. Matic, the native cryptocurrency of Polygon, lost 4.94% to US$1.1 but is up 7.74% over the past week.
Dogecoin was the sole winner among the top 10 cryptos on Tuesday afternoon, rising 6.98% to US$0.09454, after gaining 4.85% on the week. Elon Musk, Twitter chief and Dogecoin advocate, is reportedly exploring the possibility of adding crypto as a payments system for the social media platform.
Asian stock markets dropped on Tuesday as investors look ahead to policy announcements by major central banks this week. The U.S. Federal Reserve is meeting from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1 and is expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points to cool inflation.
The Shenzhen Component closed Tuesday’s trading session 0.80% lower, and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.42%. Chinese chip makers are expected to face coming pressure after the U.S. reportedly secured a deal with Japan and the Netherlands last Friday to limit some machinery exports to China.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed Tuesday down 1.03%, dipping for the second consecutive day to conclude its strong January rally.
South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.04%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.39%.
India’s Sensex index at the Bombay Stock Exchange was among the exceptions in Asian markets to gain on Tuesday, rising 0.08% at closing. Investors are on the lookout for the South Asian nation’s full year budget on Wednesday, the last report of its kind before the 2024 general elections. Economist Arvind Panagariya said India is more likely to present a budget that may boost the economy instead of a “populist” one.
