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The cryptocurrency market suffered a rollercoaster start to 2018 but appears to be back on the rise after a hacking scandal forced a sharp fall in price. Prices are creeping back into the green for most of the top cryptocurrencies this week, posting small gains of one or two percent in the early hours. Prices dropped when South Korean Cryptocurrency exchange CoinRail was hacked, losing an estimated $28 million in lesser-known altcoins. Bitcoin prices have inched back up by 1.69 percent this morning, trading at$6,623.87 as of 8:30am. Ethereum rose 4.95 percent to trade at $511.38, while Ripple increased slightly to $0.553319. Litecoin posted small gains to trade at $99.31. The cryptocurrency market is well known for its volatility but investors will be hoping for continued progress in the coming weeks.

Will cryptocurrency prices rise? The recent cryptocurrency sell-off was a big blow to the market, with investors spooked into selling after a hack-scare in South Korea. Cryptocurrency exchange CoinRail was breached on the weekend, with the attackers stealing a reported $28 million in altcoins. CoinRail released a statement about the hack that neglected to mention any of the major cryptocurrencies, prompting a huge crash in prices. Just in June alone, the cryptocurrency market has lost nearly 30 percent of its total market value, though many analysts attribute this crash to a number of reasons and not just relatively small-scale hack in southeast Asia.

Cryptocurrency news: Bitcoin bounces back - will Ripple and Ethereum rise today?

Wall Street investment firm Fundstrat’s CEO Tom Lee attributes the crash to the launch of Cboe bitcoin futures, saying that since the futures have launched in December 2017, prices have plunged and developed into expiration. In a note on Thursday, Tom Lee said: "Bitcoin sees dramatic price changes around CBOE futures expirations. This was something flagged by Justin Saslaw at Raptor Group. We compiled some of the data and this indeed seems to be true. “Overall, bitcoin has fallen 18 percent in the 10 days prior to CBOE contract expiration." According to Mr Lee, the previous two exceptions to this rule were in February when prices ran up nearly 15 percent into expiration, and April when prices rose 16 percent.

Cryptocurrency prices are back on the rise this morning

The Cboe bitcoin June futures contract expired Wednesday, with prices hitting a four-month low during the session. "A broader observation is there is significant volatility around these expirations," Lee added. "And on average, the price recovered by day six [following expiration]." According to Mr Lee’s deduction, prices should then recover and rise again in the next few days. Popular digital coin Ripple has posted good news amidst the price rises this morning, as they invest $2 million in blockchain technology from the University of Texas in Austin.

Fundstrat CEO Tom Lee thinks he has found the reason for the crypt sell-off

The 10 richest people in Cryptocurrency Wed, February 7, 2018 Cryptocurrency: 10 of the wealthiest people in Cryptocurrency according to Forbes first ever Crypto rich list. Play slideshow Getty 1 of 11 The richest people in Cryptocurrency