Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple mixed on crypto hedge fund Ponzi scheme news

The prices of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple are mixed this morning on the back of Ponzi scheme news…

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It has been a mixed 24 hours of trade for the crypto market with Bitcoin edging lower but the majority of the other larger coins making small gains.

This has left the crypto market with a total value of US$208.1 billion according to Coin Market Cap, down 0.2% since this time yesterday.

What happened?

News of the first Bitcoin-related fraud case for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission initially appeared to spook traders, but they have since taken it in their stride.

According to Fortune, Nicholas Gelfman and his US-based crypto hedge fund, Gelfman Blueprint Inc, have been ordered to pay $2.5 million for operating a fraudulent Ponzi scheme.

The report explains that Gelfman claimed to have a high-frequency trading computer program that could mine profits from Bitcoin. He told potential investors that clients typically earned a 7% to 11% monthly return on their coins.

However, there was no such monthly return and Gelfman presented fake performance reports and paid some of them using other investors' money.

Unfortunately for his investors, the Commission advised that Gelfman's victims may not receive restitution because he doesn't have sufficient funds.

How are the coins performing today?

Here is the state of play on Saturday morning compared to 24 hours ago:

The Bitcoin (BTC) price has fallen 0.6% to US$6,449.72. This decline leaves Bitcoin with a market capitalisation of US$111.8 billion.

The Ethereum (ETH) price has risen 0.25% to US$203.64, leaving ETH with a market capitalisation of US$20.9 billion.

The Ripple (XRP) price is up 0.4% to 45.48 U.S. cents. This has lifted XRP's market capitalisation to US$18.2 billion.

The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) price has pushed 1.5% higher to US$442,24, increasing the Bitcoin offshoot's market capitalisation to US$7.7 billion.

The EOS (EOS) price is down 0.2% to US$5.34. This means the EOS market capitalisation now stands at US$4.85 billion.

Outside the top five things were a little more positive. Stellar (XLM) rose 1.8%, Litecoin (LTC) climbed 1.8%, Tether (USDT) is up 0.8%, Cardano (ADA) is 1.3% higher, and Monero (XMR) has pushed 0.6% higher.

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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