Bitcoin and Ethereum extended gains on Wednesday afternoon in Asia along with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Asian equities were mixed in the trading session following U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s overnight comments stating that the “disinflationary process” has started in the U.S.



See related article: JPMorgan report shows institutional trader interest shifting to AI from blockchain after crypto slump



Fast facts




Bitcoin rose 1.34% to US$23,228 in the 24 hours to 4 p.m. in Hong Kong, gaining 0.61% over the last seven days. Ethereum climbed 2.71% to US$1,677, bringing its weekly gain to 6.43%, according to CoinMarketCap . 



Polygon’s Matic led gains among the top 10 cryptos at 5.53% to US$1.29, part of a 17.65% seven-day rally. Polkadot gained 4.11% to US$6.90, up 11.21% on the week. 



Cardano jumped 3.43% to US$0.3998 and 4.35% for the week, while Solana gained 2.23% to US$23.76, rising 0.67% in the last seven days. 



Asian equities were mixed on Wednesday after overnight comments from Powell lowered investors’ risk appetite as foreign outflow may be reduced due to slowdowns in developed economies. Fed officials have said that the central bank would raise interest rates further to bring down inflation to a 2% target.



“Powell’s comments about the disinflationary process having begun will now dominate investors’ mindsets in 2023 as they seek to create and build wealth after a difficult 2022,” said Nigel Green, chief executive of financial advisory firm deVere Group, in a statement shared with Forkast .



“Looking ahead to the rest of 2023, it is likely that investment headwinds will exceed the tailwinds – thanks to considerably more favorable market conditions driven by inflation peaking and China’s reopening, among other factors,” Green said. 



The Shenzhen Component Index dropped 0.62% to close the day, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.49% as tensions between China and the U.S. continued to escalate after the U.S. shot down an alleged “spy” balloon from China earlier this week.



Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.07% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 0.29%. 



South Korea’s Kospi ended the day 1.30% higher on Wednesday, while India’s Sensex index at the Bombay Stock Exchange gained 0.63% at closing. India’s central bank on Wednesday increased the benchmark lending rate by an expected 25 basis points and projected a 6.4% economic growth for 2023-24.



See related article: Bankrupt FTX threatens legal action to claw back donations to politicians, charities