Cryptocurrency Prices Today May 23: Bitcoin, Ether rise over 2%; Altcoins inch higher

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Most cryptocurrencies traded in the green early on May 23 as the global crypto market capital rose 2.09 percent to $1.29 trillion over the last day. On the other hand, the total crypto market volume over the last 24 hours rose 26.50 percent to $61.27 billion.

The total volume in DeFi stood at $8.08 billion, 13.19 percent of the total crypto market 24-hour volume. The volume of all stable coins was at $52.71 billion, which is 86.02 percent of the total crypto market 24-hour volume.

Bitcoin traded at Rs 24.5 lakh. The dominance of the world's largest cryptocurrency increased marginally by 0.09 percent to 44.60 percent over the last day, according to CoinMarketCap data.

In other news, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said crypto-currencies are “based on nothing” and should be regulated to steer people away from speculating on them with their life savings.

Lagarde told Dutch television that she’s concerned about people “who have no understanding of the risks, who will lose it all and who will be terribly disappointed, which is why I believe that that should be regulated.”

The comments come amid choppy times for crypto markets, with digital currencies Bitcoin and Ether down 50 percent from last year’s peak. At the same time, the asset class is facing tougher scrutiny from regulators worried about the dangers it may pose to the broader financial system.

As of 8:00 am on May 23, these are the prices of largest cryptocurrencies (data from WazirX):