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The price of Bitcoin topped $8,000 for the first time ever Friday before retreating to roughly $7,800.
With Bitcoin now worth six times more than a single ounce of gold, investors are speculating if we will see the price surge past $10,000 by the end of the year.
Bitcoin has several tailwinds that are bolstering optimism.
The combination of CME futures, launching later this year, coupled with hedge fund interest in Europe is driving Bitcoin closer to becoming a major institutional asset.
This week, venture capital investor and Earn.com CEO Balaji Srinivasan predicted that anyone under 30 in 2040 will not know a world without Bitcoin.
"It may as well be gold. That's the long-term case for replacement," he wrote on Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR).
Below is a recap of the top cryptocurrency prices at 1:00 p.m. EST
- Bitcoin: $7,849.63, +3.14%
- Ethereum: $331.60, -0.19%
- Bitcoin Cash: $1,108.14, +7.64%
- Ripple: $0.228, -2.39%
- Litecoin: $67.36, +5.29%
Now that we know all of today's price movements, here's what has been moving these cryptocurrencies…
Cryptocurrency Markets Today
On Thursday, the market capitalization of the global cryptocurrency sector hit $229.01 billion.
Bitcoin's market capitalization comprised 57.2% of the total crypto market capitalization.
Top performers from the largest 50 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization included NEO (up 14.03%), Cryptonex (up 8.76%), Hshare (up 7.35%), Byteballs Bytes (5.71%), Ethereum Classic (up 3.16%), GXShares (up 2.69%), and BitConnect (up 2.51%).
The worst performers from the top 50 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization included B3Coin (down -28.26%), VeChain (down -11.12%), Lisk (down -8.38%), Factom (down -7.75%), Stratis (down -6.59%), ZCoin (down -6.11%), and Ark (down -5.24%).
Ethereum Can't Break Higher
The Ethereum price continues to be stuck in the $330 range.
While Bitcoin continues to set new records, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has struggled to tick higher.
Must Read: CoinDesk's Top 5 Analysts to Follow in the Cryptocurrency Market
Bitcoin Cash Craters Again
In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin Cash was the seventh best-performing cryptocurrency out of the top 100 by market capitalization.
The price pushed above $1,100 after a brief dip below $900. Over the last week, Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash have had an inverse relationship.
Litecoin Rips Higher
Litecoin had another big day Friday.
The price surged more than 5% on news that the Lightning Network can now support transactions across multiple blockchains.
Lightning Labs developers have been able to process "an off-chain atomic swap between Bitcoin and Litecoin using testnet coins," according to Cryptocoinnews.com.
ECB Regulation On Tap
Today, whenever someone brings up the European Central Bank, the first topic discussed is interest rates.
But now it's time to put the ECB and Cryptocurrencies in the same sentence.
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In a discussion with Reuters on Thursday, Ewald Nowotny, president of the National Bank of Austria, said that ECB and lawmakers are exploring regulation of cryptocurrencies.
The consideration of regulation comes months after Chinese regulators decided to ban ICOs and ban trading on local exchanges.
Up Next: Never Miss a Cryptocurrency Opportunity Again
Did you know we have a free research service that finds the most profitable opportunities in cryptocurrencies today? It gives you real-time recommendations and price updates on only the best ways to make money now.
Here's everything you need to know.
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About the Author
Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, and consultant with degrees from Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and Indiana University. He is a seasoned financial and political risk analyst, with a focus on stocks, hedge funds, private equity, blockchain, and housing policy. He has conducted risk assessment projects for clients in 27 countries, and consulted on policy and financial operations for some of the nation's largest financial institutions, including a $1.5 trillion credit fund, a $43 billion credit and auto loan giant, as well as two of the largest Wall Street banks by assets under management.
Garrett joined Money Map Press as an economist and researcher in 2011, specializing in alternative strategies with an emphasis on fundamental and technical analysis.