Early on Monday morning in Asia, Bitcoin fell below the US$19,000 barrier after bouncing around the resistance level all week. The majority of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, including Ethereum, lost ground. Once more defying general market pressures, XRP was up for the day.
According to CoinMarketCap, Etheruem lost 1.8% to US$1,296 in the last day while Bitcoin dropped 0.6% to trade at US$18,817. Solana, which fell 3.4% to $32.3, was the worst performer among the top 10. Dogecoin, the most popular memecoin, fell 2.6%, bringing its seven-day gain to 5.5%.
Since its highly anticipated switch to a proof-of-stake network on September 15, which many analysts had projected would enhance the asset’s price, Ethereum’s price has not recovered. Since “The Merge,” the token has decreased by more than 20%.
The XRP rally, which has now lasted more than a week, continued on Monday with a gain of 2.1% to trade at US$0.49, bringing gains to more than 35% over the previous seven days. XRP is the native token of XRP Ledger, which runs Ripple’s payment network.
XRP’s social engagements and mentions increased at the end of last week, according to data from LunarCrush, as Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a motion for summary judgment in their legal dispute. U.S. stocks fell at the close of Friday’s trade. The S&P 500 Index finished 1.7% lower than where it started, while the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.8%.
Following another three-quarter point hike in interest rates by the Federal Reserve, the U.S. dollar index has reached a 20-year high. According to MarketWatch, the index has increased by more than 20% in the last year.
