Bitcoin and Ether rose in Friday afternoon trading in Asia, along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, after the U.S. posted a 6.5% year-on-year increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December, which came in lower than inflation readings in previous months.
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Fast facts
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Bitcoin traded 3.77% higher to US$18,829 in the past 24 hours to 4 p.m. in Hong Kong, a 12.1% rise over the past calendar week, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Ether gained 0.72% to trade at US$1,409, up 12.92% over the past week.
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Solana rose 4% to change hands at US$16.90, and strengthened 28.8% over the past week, making it the largest gainer among the top 10 non-stablecoin tokens by market capitalization. Solana has surged by about 70% since the new year following the launch of Bonk, a Solana-focused dog-themed coin.
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Avalanche traded higher 1.11% to flip hands at US$15.53, booking a 34.58% weekly increase, after Avalanche said Thursday that it has partnered with cloud service provider Amazon Web Services to accelerate blockchain adoption.
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Asian equities markets mostly finished higher on Friday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed 1.04% higher, and the Shanghai Composite Index added 1.01%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.25%.
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The December CPI reading in the U.S. fell from November’s 7.1% and marked the smallest annual increase since October 2021.
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“As the Fed’s interest rate hikes have appeared to slow down, it could provide a more favorable environment for investors to re-enter the market and invest in cryptocurrencies and other risk assets,” Henry Liu, chief executive officer of BTSE crypto exchange registered in the British Virgin Islands, told Forkast in an email.
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Liu added: “While other macroeconomic factors such as the Ukraine war and inflation may affect market sentiment, we are optimistic that the new year will bring renewed interest and investment in the market.”
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China’s exports fell by 9.9% in December from a year ago, while imports fell by 7.5%, with both data coming in slightly better than Reuters’ poll, according to the country’s customs data released Friday.
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