Cryptocurrencies decline, U.S. equities drop

Ether and other leading non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies were also lower, with XRP leading the decliners

Bitcoin dropped to near $27k in Thursday morning trading in Asia and posted the first monthly loss of the year. Ether and other leading non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies were also lower, with XRP leading the decliners. U.S. equities slipped on worries the Fed may hike interest rates once more in June after strong jobs data for April released Wednesday showed inflation is still prevailing. Investors were also nervous prior to the outcome of the vote by the U.S. Congress to approve the debt ceiling agreement.

Bitcoin dropped 2.35 per cent over the past 24 hours to $27,124 at 09:50 a.m. in Hong Kong, but held a weekly gain of 3.78 per cent, as per data from CoinMarketCap. The original cryptocurrency ended May with a loss of 4.96 per cent, the first monthly drop since the start of 2023.

The token met selling pressure after Fed’s official Loretta Mester stated Wednesday there was no compelling cause to halt interest rate raise in June, Mikkel Morch, Chairman and Non-Executive Director at investment fund ARK36, conveyed to Forkast.

He stated that the comments have had a disruptive effect on several risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. Concurrently, the release of weak manufacturing figures from China has contributed to the bearish sentiment around Bitcoin and other risk assets.

Ether declined 1.65 per cent to $1,874, while trading 5.35 per cent higher for the week and 2.07 per cent higher for the month.

In spite of the general bearish sentiment, the market seems to be more optimistic about the second-biggest crypto by market cap, as its deflationary features are supporting prices, stated Jeff Mei, COO at BTSE, citing data from Ultra Sound Money that showed nearly 200,000 Ether have been burnt during the last 30 days.

All other leading non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies saw losses during the last 24 hours, with XRP leading the decliners.

XRP dropped 2.62 per cent to $0.5088, to lead the decliners. Litecoin dropped 1.24 per cent to $91.36, but remains up 8.58 per cent for the week as the token’s third halving event comes closer, which would lessen the token’s supply.