Bitcoin Inches Up, Remains Above USD 30,000; Ether gains after Shapella upgrade

by James · April 13, 2023

Bitcoin and Ether rose in Asian trading on Thursday, along with all of the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Ether rose the most following the successful completion of the Shapella upgrade, despite initial market concerns over selling pressure caused by the enablement of stake withdrawals. Asian stock markets closed mixed despite Wall Street’s overnight rally, as investors digested cooler-than-expected US inflation data. The US dollar continued its decline, while the euro and gold values strengthened.

See related article: Crypto firms push hard to find US banking partners as industry blames ‘Operation Choke Point 2.0’

Fast facts

Bitcoin rose 0.33% to US$30,100 in the 24 hours to 16:30 in Hong Kong. The world’s first cryptocurrency gained 7.87% during the week, after the network passed 1 million Ordinals subscriptions earlier this week.
Ether rose 3.02% as the biggest gainer of the day to USD 1,927 while gaining 2.73% on the week. It held well above the USD 1,900 mark following the successful completion of the Shanghai upgrade, despite initial market concerns that the enablement of stake withdrawals would create significant selling pressure.
Cardano’s ADA, the second biggest gainer of the day, rose 2.3% to $0.40 and rose 5.11% on the week.
The global cryptocurrency market cap rose 0.81% to $1.23 trillion in the 24 hours to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, while total crypto market trading volume increased 10.13% to $45.29 billion.
The Dump 500 NFT index rose 0.03% to 3,980.79 points during the day and fell 0.53% for the week. The index is a proxy measure of the performance of the global NFT market and includes 500 eligible smart contracts on a given day.
Asian stocks were mixed after a 0.41% drop in the S&P 500, despite cooler-than-expected US inflation data, which showed inflation rose 5% from a year earlier in March but fell from 6% in February, representing the smallest the increase since May 2021. Despite persistent inflation, investors are increasingly optimistic that the Federal Reserve’s tightening cycle will end after May’s rate hike.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.26%, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.27%, the Shenzhen component lost 1.21% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended the day 0.17% higher.
European stocks strengthened to one-month highs on Thursday, as the pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.23% to 463 points and Germany’s DAX 40 gained 0.25% to 15,742 points. France’s benchmark CAC 40 rose 0.93% to a record high of 7,466 points.
Shares in LVMH, the world’s largest luxury brand, rose 4.54% during the day to a new record high of €875, after reporting a 17% rise in sales in Q1, double analysts’ expectations.
The US dollar fell 0.24% to 101.5, trading near its lowest levels since early February, while the euro rose 0.33% to stabilize above $1.10.
Gold gained 0.67% to $2,028 an ounce, trading near a one-year high as growing fears of a recession continued to bolster demand for the precious metal.