Major cryptocurrencies fluctuated on Friday, with most of them ending in bearish territory. In the UK cryptocurrency prices market, 1 BTC is trading at £49,406.00 today. In the last 24 hours, it has soared by 2.68% against the British Pound (GBP).

On the other hand, Ethereum’s price hit £2,666.96 on the UK market, with BNB exchanging hands at £443.78 and Solana (SOL) trading at £127.49.  Still, the prices change constantly, following the ups and downs caused by the market volatility and investors’ sentiment. 

Moreover, different exchange platforms offer different rates, so investors should check live cryptocurrency prices in the UK before starting the trade.   

On the global markets, Bitcoin traded near the $64K level, while Solana moved in the green. Meanwhile, ETH and XRP started today’s session in the red territory. Overall, the global crypto market capitalisation dropped by 1.36%, hitting $2.34 trillion. 

The total market volume also shaved off 9.68% in the last 24 hours. It now stands at $69.69 billion.

BTC’s dominance reached 53.85% today, increasing by 0.01%. This indicates the slowed movements within the altcoins sector. At the same time, Bitcoin ETFs showed $84.7 million in inflows, which attests to the investors’ interest in these assets.  

On Friday, Ethereum plummeted by 0.22%, reaching $3,416.99 on the global market. ETH’s 24-hour highs and lows were $3,489.67 and $3,372.33, respectively.

Unlike its peers, SOL surged forward by 1.09% today, trading at $160.69. This crypto defied the broader market trend, but its lows and highs were $155.57 and $161.59 in the last session. These numbers show the token price’s volatility, hinting that it might change the trajectory. 

Top Gainers and Losers In Today’s Session  

While most of the major cryptos ended in the red, some other digital currencies managed to maintain an upswing trajectory, defying market trends. On Friday’s session, the top gainers were:   

Mantle (MNT) – jumped by 8.01% to $0.83828.
dogwifhat (WIF) – added 5.68% to $2.35.
Bittensor (TAO) – rallied by 4.77% to $335.32.
Jupiter (JUP) – rose by 3.39% to $0.9509.

On the other hand, the most severe losses suffered the following tokens:  

Worldcoin (WLD) – plummeted by 10.51% to $2.57.
XRP price – dropped by almost 8% to $0.5559.
Mog Coin (MOG) – shaved off 8.37% to $0.000001887.
Fantom (FTM) – lost 8.37% to $0.4721.

At the end of the session, both Bitcoin and Ethereum showed an uptick trend, with the first gaining 0.76% in the last hour and the second adding 0.58%.

How Will Kraken’s Expansion Influence Crypto Price In UK?

Kraken announced that it will expand its services to the UK and Australia. This is the company’s first international venture, and its announcement caused a big uproar in the crypto market. Kraken will cater to institutional clients outside of the United States. 

This well-established cryptocurrency exchange plans to offer institutional investors in the United Kingdom and Australia a secure digital asset custody product. Since its launch in the US one year earlier, this platform has made a name for itself. It’s already well-known in America and now plans to conquer the international market. 

Tim Ogilvie, Kraken’s global head of institutional, stated that the company is also looking for more locations to expand. Thus far, they are discussing the expansions in the European Union, Switzerland, the British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands.

The company became popular mainly due to the Kraken Custody. This service provides institutions with sufficient storage and gives them access to digital assets. Thus, Kraken enables investors to adhere to crypto regulations while trading in the market.

The company’s expansion in the United Kingdom might bolster today’s cryptocurrency prices in the UK. Typically, investors react to such news, causing the digital asset prices to soar when the change is positive.   

However, another news that might also influence the UK crypto market in the short term bears more negative tidings. Block, Jack Dorsey’s Bitcoin-focused fintech giant, stated that British customers won’t be able to use the Cash App soon. 

On Thursday, the company made an official announcement on the app’s website, reporting that the service will only be available for British citizens until September 15, 2024. This popular mobile payment platform appeared on the UK market in 2018, allowing customers to send money to each other.  

What About the ECB’s Interest Rates? 

The European Central Bank (ECB) stated on Thursday that it would leave interest rates unchanged for now. It hopes to hinder rising inflation with this decision. However, the central bank’s moves have a significant impact on both fiscal and digital currencies. Crypto investors are closely watching the bank’s moves as digital currencies are the alternative values of traditional money. 

Currently, the central bank maintains high interest rates; it also aims to restrict financing conditions. Such high rates usually cause growth in the traditional currency prices, making them an attractive prospect for investment. That might reduce the capital inflow into more riskier digital currencies. Moreover, institutional investors might prefer more stable conventional investments. This could reduce the demand for cryptos, in which case the prices would fall as well. 

On the other hand, if the ECB makes economic conditions too restrictive, some people might prefer to move on to crypto investments. But that would increase price fluctuations in the cryptocurrency prices UK market and could make it more unpredictable.

Investors should closely monitor the changes in both traditional and crypto markets to make informed decisions and avoid unpleasant surprises. Stay tuned on our platform for the latest news about the financial markets!