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One of Bitcoin's most outspoken opponents slammed digital currencies again. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon doubled down on his harsh criticism of Bitcoin and predicted a bleak future for the cryptocurrency sector.
During an interview with a CNBC affiliate in New Delhi, India, Dimon predicted that world governments would shut down cryptocurrencies if they became too big and thus a threat to fiat currencies.
"Right now, these crypto things are kind of a novelty. People think they're kind of neat. But the bigger they get, the more governments are going to close them down," Dimon said, before saying that cryptocurrencies are worth nothing. He also said that governments would eventually become so intent on controlling Bitcoin and other tokens like it that they would threaten traders with imprisonment.
Critics of Dimon quickly responded that the CEO fails to grasp the underlying technology and the value of alternative currencies as a means of exchange.
Below is a recap of the top cryptocurrency prices at 3:00 p.m. EDT
- Bitcoin: $3,580.29, -2.95%
- Ethereum: $259.89, -1.33%
- Bitcoin Cash: $408.14, -5.62%
- Ripple $0.170, -2.87%
- Litecoin: $46.07, -2.50%
Now that we know all of today's price movements, here's what has been moving these cryptocurrencies...
Cryptocurrency Markets Today
On Friday, the total market capitalization of the entire cryptocurrency sector hovered near $122.9 billion.
Top performers from the largest 50 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization included Gas (up 90.5%), TenX (up 26.94%), Zcash (up 12.42%), and SingularDTV (up 5.36%). The price of Dash jumped to more than $360 per token and moved into fifth place by market capitalization. The cryptocurrency surpassed Litecoin in market cap and hit $2.55 billion after a pump by Bithumb traders.
The worst performers from the top 50 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization included Nexus (down 18.67%), GameCredits (down 8.41%), Gnosis (down 7.22%), and Siacoin (down 6.4%). Siacoin has fallen more than 50% since China announced its plans to crack down on initial coin offerings earlier this month.
Ethereum Rebounding Over the Week
The price of Ethereum was down Friday and still continues to recover from the multi-month low that it hit last week.
Top 5 Cryptocurrencies to Invest In Today
But there could be some good news ahead...
Earlier this week, Ethereum co-founder Vitali Buterin made a bullish call that the blockchain technology will have the transaction capacity of credit card-processor Visa in a "couple of years."
Litecoin Struggles on China Mining Rumors
The price of Litecoin continued to fade again on rumors that China is considering a ban on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency mining.
This week, Litecoin founder Charlie Lee said that such rumors were unfounded. He was joined by other cryptocurrency experts like Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu and John McAfee in sharing such sentiment.
"I have a trusted source that says that there's no truth to China banning mining or network," Lee wrote this week.
Up Next: The First Bitcoin Stock Is Likely to Be This Front-Runner
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About the Author
Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.
