$670 Million in Bitcoin Futures Trading Sets an All-Time High

Markets are digesting news that Bitcoin futures hit an all-time high on Wednesday, according to data provided by U.S. exchanges CME and CBOE.

Roughly $670 million in contracts were exchanged on the markets. CME said that roughly 11,000 contracts (worth 56,100 BTC) were traded on April 25. Futures trading is up 44% in April compared to trading in March.

Here is a recap of the top five cryptocurrencies by market cap as of 3:30 p.m. EDT.

Now here's a closer look at today's Money Morning cryptocurrency insight, the most important cryptocurrency updates you need to know…

Money Morning Insight of the Day

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The Top Cryptocurrency Stories for Friday

• It's a good day to be a cryptocurrency investor in France. The country announced that it has slashed its tax rate on Bitcoin and other digital currencies from 45% to 19% in an overhaul of its capital gains tax. The significant cut is expected to spur investment in the cryptocurrency sector in the highly taxed nation. The news is also important given France's role in the European Union. Many analysts believe that this will set precedence for other EU member nations to take a similar step in lowering crypto taxes.

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• Former PayPal Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: PYPL) CEO Bill Harris has called Bitcoin the "greatest scam in history." Harris appeared on CNBC after penning a blistering criticism of Bitcoin in Recode. "Everyone is drinking the Kool-Aid," he said in a talk on CNBC. "Just a couple of days ago somebody relatively prominent said Bitcoin is bigger than the Internet, bigger than the industrial revolution. Seriously."
• The world's largest brick-and-mortar retailer is quietly making a splash in blockchain Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) recently filed two applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, and both could be game changers. Here's why they could be game changers for the retail giant.

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