Litecoin Price Surges as Bitcoin Hard Fork is Aborted

Litecoin prices today climbed over 6% and got closer to $70 thanks to the cancellation of the Bitcoin hard fork.

While the hard fork was centered on how to scale a different cryptocurrency, other coins, like Litecoin, received a boost when it was canceled. The hard fork was creating uncertainty in the crypto market, and some investors were keeping their money on the sidelines until things played out.

Other investors were pouring their money into Bitcoin to receive the new cryptocurrency that would be minted if the fork happened, and others were loading up on Bitcoin Cash.

For Bitcoin prices today, a downturn came a day after economist Nouriel Roubini predicted that Bitcoin will "find its end" when more nations crack down on its use and trading, like China.

Roubini, a professor of economics at New York University, called blockchain a promising technology, but warned that Bitcoin fails as a store of value and is not a "serious" form of payment.

Roubini has a history of challenging Bitcoin's status on the international stage. Back in 2014, he referred to Bitcoin as a Ponzi scheme in the wake of the Mt. Gox exchange collapse.

Below is a recap of the top cryptocurrency prices at 3:30 p.m. EST

• Bitcoin: $7,206.18, -0.98%
• Ethereum: $326.66, +4.26%
• Bitcoin Cash: $632.06, +4.13%
• Ripple: $0.219, +2.80%
• Litecoin: $66.67, +6.49%

Now that we know all of today's price movements, here's what has been moving these cryptocurrencies...

Cryptocurrency Markets Today

On Tuesday, the market capitalization of the global cryptocurrency sector hit $206.55 billion.  Bitcoin's market capitalization comprised 57.9% of the total crypto market capitalization.

Top performers from the largest 50 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization included Cardano (up 26.84%), Siacoin (up 26.76%), IOTA (up 20.61%), Dogecoin (up 17.37%), and Bitshares (up 160.06%.).

The worst performers from the top 50 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization included Electroneum (down -16.37%), Walton (down -12.20%), Gas (down -4.11%), Komodo (down -3.93%), and Neo (down -0.92%).

Ethereum Whips Above $300

The Ethereum price has finally broken above $300 and climbed as much as 6.8% over the last 24 hours.

But the rally is surprising...

Up Next: This Bitcoin Price Prediction Chart Is a Trader's Dream

Ethereum has experienced a potentially significant vulnerability with the Parity wallet. Due to this problem, more than $150 million worth of Ethereum has been frozen, including a significant amount of funds for an ICO project.

Ethereum's market cap hovered just below $30 billion.

Altcoins Rally Again

On Thursday, we saw coins in the bottom half of the top 10 by market capitalization show significant gains.

Video

Top 5 Cryptocurrencies to Invest in Today

Another Central Bank Warning

Weeks after Jamie Dimon and Lloyd Blankfein offered their take on Bitcoin, another Wall Street CEO has decided to chime in on the future of cryptocurrencies.

This time, it was Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) CEO Michael Corbat, who said that the rise of Bitcoin and other alternative coins will foster the development of state-sponsored cryptocurrencies.

His statement came in an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday. His firm has already explored its own form of cryptocurrency.

The "Citicoin" would aim to reduce transaction costs in cross-border exchanges.

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