Bitcoin prices fell 3.4% to $8,275.21 on Wednesday as markets continued a broader sell-off in the cryptocurrency sector.
That's creating a buying opportunity for savvy investors. We'll show you one major reason why in just a second.
The price of Bitcoin fell to its lowest levels since April 19. Meanwhile, Bitcoin Cash and EOS (the fourth and fifth largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, respectively) both fell more than 9%.
But the price slump might be short-lived...
BitMEX co-founder and CEO Arthur Hayes projected the price of Bitcoin will surge to $50,000 by the end of 2018 during an interview with CNBC.
Hayes dismissed the downturn in Bitcoin's price during the first quarter, but acknowledged that his firm is making money no matter which way it goes as a margin trading platform.
"If it goes up, if it goes down, if you have Bill Gates calling it a fraud... Short it, I don't care. If you think it's going to be $1 million in a few months, great, buy it. I still don't care. We just match trades," Hayes said.
Here is a recap of the top five cryptocurrencies by market cap as of 9:00 a.m. EST:
| Cryptocurrency | Price | Market Cap | Change (24h) |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $8,275.21 | $6,936,810,000 | -3.40% |
| Ethereum (ETH) | $695.66 | $2,586,300,000 | -3.59% |
| Ripple (XRP) | $0.69 | $456,934,000 | -4.92% |
| Bitcoin Cash (BCH) | $1,265.49 | $1,002,030,000 | -9.20% |
| EOS | $12.15 | $1,776,090,000 | -9.76% |
Now here's a closer look at today's Money Morning cryptocurrency insight, including our own way to profit from Bitcoin's latest price slump...
Money Morning Insight of the Day
BTC prices might be down for the moment, but that's not going to last...
You see, a new innovation coming to the Bitcoin network is going to be a game changer.
Most People Don't Know This About Bitcoin: A systems upgrade expected any day now could send Bitcoin to $100,000. Go here to see why Bitcoin's not dead... and how it could make you millions.
It's called the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
The Top Cryptocurrency Stories for Wednesday
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- JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) is looking into joining the ongoing cryptocurrency craze. Company Co-President Daniel Pinto said that the firm is exploring the cryptocurrency space and acknowledged the role that blockchain technology will have in the financial sector in the future. However, Pinto suggested that the anonymous nature of Bitcoin will lead to problems for the cryptocurrency in the future. "That will have a very short life, because people will stop believing in it, or the regulators will kill it. I think the concept is valid, you have many central banks looking into," he said. "The tokenization of the economy, for me, is real. Cryptocurrencies are real but not in the current form."
- CME Group (Nasdaq: CME) launched Bitcoin futures in late 2017, and they're not done yet in the cryptocurrency futures business. The Chicago-based trading giant said it is engaging clients on their interest in Ethereum futures. The company announced this week that it is launching a price benchmark for Ethereum.
- A recent report indicates that Bitcoin will use 0.5% of global electricity by the end of the year. That is the equivalency of the total amount of electricity consumed by the nation of Ireland. That figure appeared in the May 16 issue of the journal Joule and was prepared by economist and blockchain specialist Alex de Vries. Perhaps that's one reason why more governments have been shutting down mining operations due to the stress on the electrical grid and the expected impact of mining on the environment.
See Why Bitcoin Is Far from Dead (and How It Could Make You a Millionaire)
At our recent Bitcoin 20X Summit, we uncovered information that left many folks stunned - and re-evaluating everything they thought they knew about the crypto market.
You see, while Wall Street and Fortune 500 companies continue to badmouth Bitcoin, they're diving headfirst into this craze... and I'd bet not one in 10,000 people know the reason behind it.
Go here to see why Bitcoin's not dead... and how it could make you millions.