Bitcoin Rises Above US$27,000, Litecoin Leads Gains Among Top 10 Cryptos

Bitcoin and Ether rallied on Friday afternoon trade in Asia along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, after successful negotiations to raise the US debt ceiling injected optimism into the markets. Litecoin was the biggest gainer in 24 hours. Asian and European stock markets strengthened on Friday and US stock futures rose.

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Bitcoin gains, First Digital issues new stablecoin

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, rose 1.08% to $27,076 in the 24 hours to

Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world, rose 1.78% to $1,886 in 24 hours, after rising 3.85% over the past seven days.

Litecoin was the biggest gainer among the top 10 cryptos, rising 2.25% to $94.48 in 24 hours, gaining 8.35% for the week. It rallied with stronger buying support from its third halving event set for August 2, which will reduce supply of the token.

Litecoin’s on-chain activities increased in May, according to blockchain data tracker IntoTheBlock on Tuesday, which noted nearly 8.5 million Litecoin addresses with a balance by the end of May, compared to 7.09 million addresses at the end of March.

“The U.S. debt ceiling appears to have been resolved, and the Federal Reserve may be looking to halt, if not end, the rate hike cycle,” Markus Thielen, head of research and strategy at digital asset service platform Matrixport, said in a note on Friday .

“The biggest concern that investors may face may be their underweight, and they will have to chase the upside. This is why we may see risk assets — US tech stocks, crypto — rise further in 2023,” Thielen said.

The global crypto market capitalization strengthened by 1.21% to $1.14 trillion, while the total crypto market volume lost 5.75% to $29.94 billion in the last 24 hours.

Hong Kong-based consultancy First Digital has introduced a new stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, First Digital USD (FDUSD), it said in a statement on June 1, the same day Hong Kong’s new licensing regime for virtual asset service providers took effect.

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Issued by FD121 Limited, a subsidiary of the trust company and under the brand name First Digital Labs, the stablecoin is intended to be backed on a 1:1 basis by one US dollar or asset of equivalent fair value, held in accounts of regulated finance. institutions in Asia, the statement says.

NFT sales increase

In non-fungible tokens, the Forkast 500 NFT index fell 1.05% to 3,364.53 in the 24 hours to 18:50 in Hong Kong, but is up 0.27% over the past seven days.

In the same period, Forkast ETH NFT Composite lost 0.2%, and is down 0.01% on the week.

Ethereum NFT sales rose 6.41% in 24 hours to $24.33 million, according to CryptoSlam data. Azuki recorded the highest sales volume among NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain, rising 1.06% to $3.76 million, followed by Bored Ape Yacht Club which increased 1.18% to $3.58 million.

NFT sales on the Bitcoin network increased by 204.53% in 24 hours to $7.29 million.

Japan’s All Nippon Airways, or ANA Group, has launched an NFT platform – ANA GranWhale NFT MarketPlace – for trading art and photographic collectibles through its metaverse subsidiary ANA NEO.

“China is getting into NFTs and crypto, and Russia will use crypto to settle cross-border payments. These two big announcements bring excitement back to the NFT and crypto markets and lead many to believe that these alone can turn the market around , according to Yehudah Petscher, an NFT strategist at Forkast Labs.

“Collectors are looking at expensive NFTs ahead of a potential inbound pump from Chinese investors looking to snap up NFT grails like CryptoPunks, BAYC and Azuki,” he added.

Asian shares rise, US futures rise

Asian stock markets rose on Friday as investors breathed a sigh of relief after the US Senate passed a bill late Thursday evening that suspended the world’s largest economy’s debt limit until January 1, 2025. The 11th-hour deal ends the threat of a first-time US default .

The Shanghai Composite rose 0.79% and the Shenzhen Component Index rose 1.5%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 4.02% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.21%.

Major US stock futures rose from 19:35 in Hong Kong. Tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.6%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.53% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.52%.

European stock markets also strengthened on Friday after gains in Asia and Wall Street, after US lawmakers passed the bill to raise the debt ceiling. The benchmark STOXX 600 rose 1% and Germany’s DAX 40 rose 1.12%.

“Using the nation’s debt as a political weapon undermines investor confidence in the U.S. government amid concerns about the government’s ability to properly manage its economy,” Nigel GreenCEO of financial advisory firm deVere Group, wrote to the media organization Newsmax.

“This loss of confidence will mean it will be more difficult for the US government to borrow money in the future, which could lead to higher interest rates and weaker economic growth,” Green said.

The US Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet on June 14 to decide the next move to interest rates, which are now between 5% and 5.25%, the highest since 2006. The CME FedWatch Tool now predicts a 76% chance the Fed will keep rates on hold . unchanged in June, and a 24% chance of another rate hike of 25 basis points, down from 37.8% on Thursday.

US jobs data scheduled to be released later on Friday could also reveal clues about the Fed’s rate hike path.