Markets: Bitcoin back above US$17,000; Ether, crypto market extend weekend gains

Bitcoin and Ether rose in Monday morning trading in Asia, rising with the rest of the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, with Cardano and BNB changing the most. Many cryptocurrencies have been gaining over the past several days after the latest U.S. jobs data released last Friday sparked a Wall Street rally.

Fast facts

• Bitcoin was up 1% to US$17,117 in the 24 hours to 8 a.m. in Hong Kong, breaking the US$17,000 level for the first time since late December in a 2.9% increase over the week. Ether gained 1.9% to US$1,287, a 7.3% weekly rise, according to CoinMarketCap.
• Cardano rose 7.3% to change hands at US$0.29, a rise of 18.8% in the past week. This price run comes as ADA, the native cryptocurrency of the Cardano blockchain, made it to the top 10 most used cryptocurrencies for payments for the first time, according to Lithuanian cryptocurrency exchange CoinGate.
• BNB gained 5.3% to US$274.77 rising 12.5% over the past seven days. Polygon’s MATIC rose 4.1% to trade at US$0.84, bringing its weekly gains to 10.5%.
• The total crypto market capitalization was at US$830.4 billion, a 0.8% increase over the previous 24 hours, while the total trading volume was US$20.4 billion, a 14.7% rise during that same time.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.1%, the S&P 500 Index rose 2.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed 2.6% higher. These gains represent the best day of trading for the Dow and S&P 500 since Nov. 30 and the Nasdaq’s best performance since Dec. 29.
• While U.S. Labor Department data released Friday showed that non-farm payrolls rose by 223,000 jobs in December, which was higher than expectations, it also showed that wages grew by only 0.3% for the month instead of the 0.4% predicted.
• U.S. services activity also contracted for the first time in 2.5 years according to the Institute for Supply Management, which said on Friday that its Purchasing Manager Index fell to 49.6 in December, down from November’s 56.5. A reading of below 50 in this index reflects a contraction in the sector.
• Investors are watching for any signs that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s months-long campaign of raising interest rates has had the intended impact of tamping down elevated inflation in the country. The Fed raised rates by 50 basis points in December, bringing benchmark rates to between 4.25% and 4.5% — the highest in 15 years.
• The next U.S. Consumer Price Index data, a key inflation indicator, is scheduled to be released on Thursday, Jan. 12.

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