Bitcoin and several other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies experienced a slight increase in value during morning trading in Asia on Thursday. However, Bitcoin struggled to maintain support at the $30,000 mark, signaling a fading buying enthusiasm for the cryptocurrency. This decline follows recent gains that were driven by exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications and a court ruling favoring Ripple in its case against the Securities and Exchange Commission. Alternatively, Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, saw a slight decrease in value.
Bitcoin’s value rose by 0.44% to $29,919.68 in Hong Kong morning trading, but it has seen a 1.45% decrease over the past seven days. According to Nick Ruck, the COO of ContentFi Labs, a Singapore-based blockchain infrastructure platform, the cryptocurrency market has remained relatively flat following a series of positive news. Ruck explained that the positive impact of the Bitcoin ETF news has already been factored in, and investors are now waiting to see how these financial products perform in the market. Additionally, Ruck noted that the recent court ruling in favor of Ripple Labs and its XRP token contributed to the price gains. However, this ruling does not resolve the regulatory uncertainty surrounding the classification of tokens as securities.
Adrian Wang, the CEO of Metalpha, a Hong Kong-based digital asset manager, agreed that the optimism surrounding XRP and ETFs has waned. Wang noted that although Ripple achieved a partial victory in court, the case did highlight the confusion around the regulatory classification of tokens. Despite this, Ripple was the biggest gainer among the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, with the token experiencing an 8.02% surge to $0.8275.
Other cryptocurrencies that saw gains include Cardano, which increased by 5.81% to $0.3224, and Solana, which saw a 4.67% rise to $26.53. Solana Labs, the blockchain infrastructure developer behind the Solana token, announced the introduction of a new developer tool called Solang, which aims to make smart contracts on the blockchain more accessible.
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On the other hand, Ether experienced a slight decrease in value, falling by 0.37% to $1,892.30. However, Ether has seen a 1.17% increase over the past week and a significant 57% gain since the start of the year.
The total cryptocurrency market capitalization remained relatively stable, increasing by only 0.01% to $1.2 trillion in the past 24 hours. However, trading volume decreased by 3.50% to $31.11 billion.
In the non-fungible token (NFT) market, the Forkast 500 NFT index dropped by 0.25% in the past 24 hours to 2,710.26. The index also saw a 0.47% increase over the past week. Despite this slight decline, the NFT market continues to expand into the art world. Jackson Pollock Studio, an art collection from New York, released 500 Ethereum-based NFT artworks called “Beyond the Edge.” These NFTs are a collaboration with digital art platform Iconic Moments and include physical prints of the late painter’s abstract expressionist work.
While the NFT market shows signs of slowing down, experts at the Art+Tech Summit in New York discussed the potential of blockchain technologies, including NFTs, to make art institutions more accessible to audiences. The Miami Institute of Contemporary Art’s Anthony Troisi highlighted the decentralized nature of NFT art and the vast possibilities it offers to institutions.
In the US stock market, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 experienced gains, while the Nasdaq index saw a slight decline. However, during Asian trading hours on Thursday, all three major US stock futures indexes dropped, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq experiencing the largest decline at 0.50%. Tesla shares also dropped despite reporting record-high quarterly revenue, as lower operating margins overshadowed investor sentiment. Furthermore, stocks in Netflix plummeted due to lower-than-expected revenue.
Goldman Sachs reported missed estimates in its earnings report, citing a 60% drop in profits in the second quarter. However, CEO David Solomon remains optimistic about a recovery in the investment banking sector. IBM also reported mixed results, with earnings exceeding expectations but revenue falling short.
Investors are eagerly awaiting more earnings reports from US heavyweights, including Johnson & Johnson, Philip Morris, Lenovo Group, and American Airlines.
In Asia, the stock markets were mixed, with China’s Shanghai Composite Index and Japan’s Nikkei 225 experiencing declines, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rebounded from a two-day decline. South Korea’s Kospi index also saw a slight increase.
The US Federal Reserve is scheduled to hold its next Federal Open Market Committee meeting on July 26, with the CME FedWatch Tool predicting a 99.8% chance of a 25 basis points interest rate hike announcement.
