Bitcoin price LIVE: 'Joke' DOGECOIN set to beat bitcoin in percentage growth over 2018

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Good afternoon, and welcome to our rolling coverage of all things cryptocurrency, including price, regulation, innovation and financial crime.

Finder’s April Cryptocurrency Predictions Report points to growth in the cryptocurrency market, however, a team of leading cryptocurrency panellists predict Dogecoin (DOGE) will experience the greatest percentage growth by December 31, 2018, up 5,838 percent.

Bitcoin, currently priced at $6739, is forecast to remain the highest value per unit, although its price will fall to £6,464 by May 1, 2018.

Cardano (ADA) is expected to have the second greatest increase in growth by the end of the year, up 812 percent, followed by Ripple (XRP), up 526 percent.

Finder.com claim the Ethereum market cap will grow by 234 percent by December 31, 2018

Joke?

The big surprise comes from DOGE, the parody ‘alt’ coin named after an internet meme featuring a Shiba Inu dog that had, until the end of last year, had largely been forgotten about since its heyday in 2014.

In 2015 Motherboard, the Vice-owned technology platform, described it as a “cryptocurrency originally started for s***s and giggles”.

However, Finder.com claim that with DOGE, priced at $0.003 (£0.0021) per unit on March 27, 2018, is forecast to reach $0.1938 (£0.14) by the end of the year.

Jon Ostler, UK CEO at finder.com said: “While the downward trend has continued over the past month for many coins, our panel remains bullish in a presently bearish market, signalling optimism for future growth.

“This is the second consecutive month where panellists are expecting no drop in value for any of the included coins by the end of 2018.

“While Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA), Ripple (XRP), Ethereum (ETH) and Stellar Lumens (XLM) are expected to see greater percentage growth than bitcoin (BTC) this year, BTC is still forecast by our panel to reach the highest value of the 13 coins, at $21,485 (£15,261) by December 31.”

The CEO warns that all cryptocurrency price predictions must be taken with a pinch of salt.

He said: “Before considering purchasing cryptocurrency, it’s crucial to understand that the market is incredibly volatile and will continue to represent high risk.

“It’s important to do your research, seek professional advice and compare your options before taking the leap into the market.”

Updates below throughout the day….

15.08pm – UPDATE – BTC climbs

Bitcoin climbs to $6,756.

13.08pm – UPDATE – Is bitcoin broken?

Gavin Brown, senior lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University and co-founder of cryptocurrency hedge fund Blockchain Capital Limited, claims that there is a certain “optimism” around regulated BTC derivatives, and the potential for Ethereum derivatives in the future.

Just yesterday the chief executive of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) said that he wouldn’t “rule out” cryptocurrency-based futures contracts.

ICE chief executive Jeffrey Sprecher told Bloomberg TV Monday that although it is still “early days” for the asset class, he could not ignore the idea of cryptocurrency futures contracts.

He said: “I wouldn’t rule anything out … There is a trend here we can’t ignore in my mind, so I don’t discount it.”

Read the full report here.

11.28am – UPDATE – BTC flat

Bitcoin is flat on the day so far at $6,725. Could it have anything to do with the “$25B worth of Crypto tax that needs to be paid in the US before the 17th Apr deadline”?

Twitter user @SiamKidd certainly thinks so.

10.22am – UPDATE – When bubbles burst

The Bank of America Corp has claimed that the greatest bubble in history is currently in the middle of a creeping “pop”.

Chief Investment Strategist Michael Hartnett wrote in a note Sunday that the cryptocurrency has fallen more than 65 percent since peaking in December at $19,511.

8.38am – UPDATE – ‘A cryptocurrency future sounds liberating. In reality, it would be a disaster for everybody.’

MIT Technology Review has written on the future of monetary systems and the rise of cryptocurrencies.

Responding to the so-called “dream that cryptocurrency could replace our existing system of fiat money”, with “a system where the government can’t manipulate the money supply”, and where, “the dollar and the euro were replaced by Bitcoin”, the editorial asks how would the economy and the financial system function?

James Surowiecki writes: “The simple answer is: not well. Our economies and financial systems are built around fiat money, and they rely on the central bank’s control of the currency (and the government’s ability to issue debt in that currency) to help manage the business cycle, fight unemployment, and deal with financial crises.

“An economy in which Bitcoin was the dominant currency would be a more volatile and harsher economy, in which the government would have limited tools to fight recessions and where financial panics, once started, would be hard to stop.”

The expert adds: “This doesn’t mean cryptocurrencies are useless. Buying drugs, money laundering: these are situations where they can come in handy.”