ETH extends rally alongside SOL and DOT, while BTC retreats
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Ether, Solana and Polkadot were the best performers among top 10 cryptocurrencies in early Asia trade on Wednesday, as Bitcoin fell following hawkish tapering comments from US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
Number two cryptocurrency Ether rose over 4.5% to $4,704.78 to take its weekly gain to over 8%.
Over the past 24 hours, Ether prices hit an over two-week high of $4,759 as Denver-based investment firm Kelly Strategic Management filed for approval to list an Ether futures exchange-traded fund.
Blockchain networks Solana, Polkadot join Ether rally
“Ethereum is still the favourite crypto bet for most traders and seems like it will make another run towards USD 5000 once risk appetite returns,” said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at brokerage firm OANDA.
Rival blockchain networks Solana’s SOL and Polkadaot’s DOT joined the rally gaining 2.8% to $210.42 and 3.8% to $38.1, respectively.
Cardano’s ADA failed to overturn its recent weakness, falling 2.4% to $1.56 in early Asia trade on Wednesday to take its weekly losses up to nearly 10%. The ADA token is about 50% away from its all-time high of $3.09 hit in early September, according to CoinGecko.
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Bitcoin retreats after Fed chair comments
Bellwether cryptocurrency Bitcoin slipped 0.1% to $57,159 on Wednesday morning after having climbed as high as $59,249 over the last 24 hours.
Bitcoin prices retreated after Powell said it is “appropriate in my view to consider wrapping up the taper of our asset purchases, which we actually announced at the November meeting, perhaps a few months sooner” during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Tuesday, while adding that a report on digital currencies by the Fed is expected in “coming weeks.”
“Bitcoin and Ethereum went in separate ways today. A faster Fed taper and increased rate hike expectations were bad news for bitcoin. Bitcoin is trading more like a risky asset than an inflation hedge,” said Moya of OANDA.
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