Markets: Bitcoin, Ether little changed; Dogecoin falls

Bitcoin and Ether changed little on Monday morning in Asia, along with nearly all other non-stablecoin top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Dogecoin was the biggest loser, followed by XRP.

Fast facts

• Bitcoin edged down 0.04% to US$16,840 in the 24 hours to 8 a.m. in Hong Kong, as Ether dipped 0.19% to US$1,219, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
• Dogecoin fell 2.14% in the past 24 hours to trade at US$0.07597, after Elon Musk, who has repeatedly teased the memecoin’s integration to Twitter, announced that he will step down as the chief of the social media platform.
• XRP fell 1.64% to trade at US$0.3464, and BNB nudged down 0.6% to change hands at US$243.16.
• U.S. equities finished higher on Friday but still booked a weekly loss last week amid looming recession fears. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.5%, the S&P 500 Index gained 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.2%.
• The movements followed a relief rally on Wednesday after data showed the U.S. consumer confidence index reached an eight-month high in December.
• Markets in the U.S. and Hong Kong are closed on Monday for Christmas.