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8.15am MORNING HEADLINES Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of all things cryptocurrency, including price, regulation, innovation and financial crime. Bitcoin is priced at $6,598 this morning with ethereum falling to $462 and ripple down at $0.46. Daniel Krawisz Nakamoto Institute co-founder and self-described (on Twitter) "Emperor of Bitcoin" is reported by Yahoo Finance as claiming that bitcoin will be worth $100,000,000 by 2030, with any currency standing in its way being hit by 'demonetisation' or 'Hyperbitcoinisation'. Hyperbitcoinisation is described as a state in which bitcoin is expected to become the world’s dominant form of money. Mr Krawisz claims that as bitcoin moves towards the mainstream, people's relationship with their own money will change, and when users realise that they now control the value of money, enthusiasm for traditional fiat currencies will dwindle.

If hyperbitcoinisation happened, that would mean that at every price of bitcoin in dollars would happen at some point, but that could be because dollars are worth a thousand times less than they are now. Daniel Krawisz, Nakamoto Institute co-founder

The article on Yahoo (that doesn't have a single direct quote from Mr Krawisz) argues that the cost of rejecting bitcoin will exceed the cost of adopting it as more people start to use the cryptocurrency. On the $100m by 2030 valuation, the article claims that 20 percent of bitcoin total supply will be missing or lost in the future, which means there will only be about 16.8 million coins in circulation. When the global value of money 1.8Q, is divided by the total 16.8 million coins, we hit the expected bitcoin value of $100 million. Mr Krawisz distanced himself from claims in the article on Twitter. He said: "Most of the claims attributed to me in this article are not true. I never claimed any specific value for bitcoin or give a time limit nor did I claim that btc would be the most valuable chain of bitcoin." However, he adds: "Now come to think of it, if hyperbitcoinisation happened, that would mean that at every price of bitcoin in dollars would happen at some point, but that could be because dollars are worth a thousand times less than they are now." Got something to add? Send your reaction / thoughts / analysis / price predictions over to @DavidGDawkins. Updates below throughout the day....

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

8.43am - Regulation chat. Japan vs EU With the Japanese FSA set to change crypto exchange regulations, Gabrielius Bilkštys, Business Manager at Mistertango says that changes in Japan lower the risks. Mr Bilkštys said: “If the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) does go ahead with the changes, this will have a huge impact for crypto-exchange customers across Japan. The proposed changes mean that each customer’s coins would need to be managed separately from the exchange’s own supply, driving greater security for both sides. "This, along with the stronger capital requirements, will lower the risk of bankruptcy and impose stricter AML & KYC rules, providing better protection for traders and warding off criminal activity.” However, compared to the EU regulatory environment, Gabrielius adds: “At the moment, there’s no consensus – worldwide or otherwise. Each EU country has a different approach when it comes to regulation. "For example, in Estonia, crypto-exchanges require licenses and in Lithuania, the central bank requires the segregation of financial services and crypto services. "As central banks across the world become increasingly concerned with the regulation of crypto-related companies, we’re likely to see even further variation and a number of new models springing up over time as understanding of the industry continues to build and develop."

Bitcoin price LIVE: Bitcoin to become the dominant form of money by 2030?

9.27am - Is institutional money on the way? Plutus founders Jasper Tay told Express.co.uk that "it has been a tough time for bitcoin and other virtual currencies after coinrail was hacked". However, he adds: "I don’t believe we are watching the slow demise of crypto.” On the contradiction of institutional supposedly incoming, but with the prices still falling Mr Tay cites the blip earlier this year as a result of a negative investment note by Goldman Sachs, however they have now announced they are set to open a cryptocurrency trading desk. He said: "Since the announcement of Goldman’s desk, the price of bitcoin has risen and the price has been further strengthened by the involvement of swiss banks such as Vontebel. "There are more and more crypto focused Hedge funds opening up financed by Institutional money and private wealth, so the complexion of the crypto investor is forever changing. "Hence the involvement and investment by institutions will have a real impact on the appeal of investing in bitcoin and give it increased legitimacy.”

Flood damage in China

10.00am - Extreme weather warning Bitcoin has been hit by an extreme weather warning with the floods in China affecting how crypto ‘miners’ create new coins and process transactions. The slowing of bitcoin’s hashrate points to the concerning dependency of cryptocurrencies on China’s miners, and how extreme weather, war or a government clampdown could smash the global bitcoin mining industry. Golden Finance, a Chinese crypto news platform said: “The Sichuan province had become a concentrated area of cryptocurrency mining activities due to its abundant amount and cheap electricity tariffs. The floods damaged tens of thousands of miners.” Read the full report: Bitcoin EXTREME weather warning - 'miners' hit by China floods 11.02am - Pension specialists not convinced Jamie Smith-Thompson - the managing director of pensions advice specialists Portafina told Express.co.uk that when it comes to cryptocurrencies, "we simply wouldn’t advise anyone to go near them.” He said: "I would say that even the most mainstream of investments can be volatile in the markets. "With the current political backdrop, especially in Russia, the UK government will clamp down on these currencies even more. "Hence, as qualified financial experts, we simply wouldn’t advise anyone to go near them.”

Did China burst the bitcoin bubble?

11.11am - Bitcoin drops Bitcoin has dropped $220 on the day so far. The price is now $6,444. 12.38pm - Did China burst the Bitcoin bubble? Bitcoin's demise from its high of $19,118 on December 19, has run alongside the massive withdrawal of cryptocurrency trading in China’s renminbi (RMB) currency. China’s central bank has confirmed that the buying and selling of bitcoin in RMB has fallen from a peak of 90 percent of the world’s total to less than 1 percent since September 2017. Read the full report here. Has CHINA burst the bitcoin BUBBLE? Trading in RMB drops from 90% to 1%

Bitcoin price live: BTC has shed $300 so far today