Bitcoin Surges Above $3,500 Amid Geopolitical & Tech Developments

In cryptocurrency trading news today, Bitcoin prices hit a new all-time high across multiple exchanges as global markets fell on increased concerns about tensions between North Korea and the United States.

The market also received a boost after NVIDIA Corp. (Nasdaq: NVDA) CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said that cryptocurrencies have a promising future after his company reported earnings on Thursday.

But some of the biggest news surrounded Civic, a new cryptocurrency. Prices of the Civic coin surged more than 70% over 24 hours after it opened trading in China. This is the latest ICO to raise millions of dollars in just minutes. Money Morning Cryptocurrency Expert David Zeiler recently explained why ICOs are exploding in value.

The total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency industry topped $126 billion.

Below is a recap of cryptocurrency prices at 3:30 p.m. EDT...

Bitcoin: $3,536, +3.90%

Bitcoin Cash: $326.28, +14.37%

Ethereum: $301.30, -0.44%

Ripple: $0.178, -1.94%

Litecoin: $46.78, -1.91%

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

Bitcoin Prices Today: Bitcoin Hits New Record High

Bitcoin's market capitalization continued to climb on Friday and crossed the $3,500 market for the first time. Over the last year, the cryptocurrency has jumped by nearly 500% in value.

Traders continue to speculate on how high Bitcoin prices can climb in the future. Sheba Jafari, Goldman Sachs Group's top technical trader, has projected that Bitcoin could top $3,690.

Must Read: The Ultimate Guide to Profiting from Bitcoin - Free Report

Other investors see a massive leap ahead. Dennis Porto, a Harvard academic who realized that Bitcoin's price has been following Moore's law, predicted that the cryptocurrency could hit $100,000 by 2021, so long as that trend continued.

Bitcoin Cash Prices Rebound Double Digits

Bitcoin Cash prices rebounded Friday after Thursday's double-digit sell-off. The capitalization of BCH hit $5.38 billion, good enough for fourth place among all cryptocurrencies in value.

On Thursday, Aaron Lasher of Breadwallet said that the recent downturn was likely tied to the news that many traders can now transfer their BCH coins from wallets.

Ethereum Prices Dip on the Day

Ethereum prices dipped slightly lower Friday. Prices fell on lighter than usual volumes.

The total volume of Ethereum traded hit $900 million, less than half of Bitcoin's volume.

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Ripple Prices Lose to Bitcoin

Ripple prices fell nearly 2% on the day. It's becoming increasingly clear that rival ICOs have attracted interest away from several of the upper-tier cryptocurrencies.

Just $52 million in Ripple was traded on the day.

By comparison, NEO surged another 21% on volumes of $465 million as traders focus on the potential of the seventh-place cryptocurrency's potential in China.

Litecoin Prices Lower as Investors Focus on New Digital Currencies

Litecoin prices were also lower today as more investors focused on buying new cryptocurrencies and buying more Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.

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