On Friday during Asian trading hours, Bitcoin was up and Ether was down as the majority of the top coins decreased somewhat.Among the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, Polygon’s MATIC recorded the highest growth.In the 24 hours leading up to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, Bitcoin increased by 0.08% to US$23,003.As of US$1,582, Ether was down 1.45%, according to CoinMarketCap data.Polkadot, which was up 0.73% to US$6.46 to register the day’s second-greatest increase among the top 10 cryptocurrencies, was well behind MATIC, which extended its rally with a 9.07% gain to trade at US$1.09.In the 24 hours leading up to 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, the worldwide cryptocurrency market capitalization decreased by 0.31% to US$1.05 trillion.The total number of transactions on the cryptocurrency market fell by 13.60% to US$54.14 billion.Asian stocks increased in line with overnight gains on Wall Street, although Japan’sNikkei 225 fell by 0.072 percent.Investors who anticipate more gradual rate increases in the U.S. helped Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index conclude the day 0.54% higher.The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to convene the following week to decide how to proceed with interest rates.A 25 basis point rate increase is anticipated to be announced by the central bank.The markets in China will open again on Monday after being closed all week for the Lunar New Year vacation.
