Markets: Bitcoin up, Ether down; MATIC tops gains among top 10 cryptos

Bitcoin was up and Ether was down during Asian trading hours on Friday as most of the top coins fell slightly. Polygon’s MATIC saw the biggest gains among the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

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Fast facts

• Bitcoin gained by 0.08% to US$23,003 in the 24 hours to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong. Ether was down 1.45% to US$1,582, according to CoinMarketCap data.

• MATIC extended its rally with a 9.07% surge to trade at US$1.09, far outpacing Polkadot, which was up 0.73% to US$6.46 to record the day’s second highest jump among the top 10 cryptocurrencies.

• The global cryptocurrency market capitalization shrunk by 0.31% to US$1.05 trillion in the 24 hours to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong. The total crypto market trading volume decreased by 13.60% to US$54.14 billion.

• Asian equities were up in line with Wall Street’s overnight rally, but Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid by 0.072%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed the day 0.54% higher as investors hope for slower rate hikes in the U.S.

• Members of the U.S. Federal Reserve are scheduled to meet next week to decide the next move on interest rates. The central bank is expected to announce a 25 basis point rate increase.

• China markets will reopen on Monday after staying closed throughout the week for the Lunar New Year holiday.

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