Cryptocurrency markets saw some gains on Monday morning in Asia, as Bitcoin opened the week above US$27,000 and Ether rebounded slightly to its value on Friday. Despite the small advances, both currencies remained within the box of losses that they have been stuck in since last week, with Bitcoin still below US$28,000 and Ether clinging on to US$2,000. Other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies started the day higher, but still logged losses of double digits on the week. XRP continued to rebound strongly among the top 10 coins, with an 8.9% increase since last Monday.

Investors have seen a correction in the cryptocurrency market since the rally that followed Tesla's surprise announcement about its purchase of Bitcoin for its treasury. Contributing factors to the drop include concerns about further measures from the Chinese government to regulate their use and the impact of high inflation on the risk appetite for digital assets.

Meanwhile, equity futures in the U.S. were subdued on Monday morning in Asia, indicating a downbeat start to the week in the stock markets. Despite the positive close of the three major indexes on Friday due to an upbeat jobs report outpacing the grim consumer price index, investors are likely to remain cautious ahead of the first-quarter earnings reports of several big-name U.S. companies that will be released in the week ahead. Analysts predict that the figures for the quarter in question are likely to show a decline from last year's numbers, due presumably to slower economic activity from the coronavirus pandemic.

Monday saw a recovering Bitcoin and Ether trade, both of which had seen substantial losses from the correction of their recent rally. XRP was the strongest performer among the top 10 non-stablecoins, with an 8.9% growth in value over the week. While the overall sentiment for cryptocurrencies seemed positive, U.S. equity futures seemed gloomy on Monday morning in Asia. This seemingly conflicting situation is likely to persist in the week ahead, when the stock markets will be expecting first-quarter earnings reports of major corporations. The outlook for the forthcoming figures is expected to be a decline from last year, likely due to the impact of the Covid pandemic on economic activity. Concerns about inflation and further regulations from the Chinese government are also likely to remain at the forefront, as will the potential of a marked recovery in the cryptocurrency markets.



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