The last 24-hours have been on the downswing as the market retracts to just under $89 billion. Bitcoin dominance stays high at 48.1% and Dash moves in to take the #5 spot from NEM. Looks as though Bitcoin is returning to the $2,500 price range, but only time will tell. After seeing nearly $3,000 just last week and the Bitcoin network upgrade coming along on August 1st — we literally have no clue what will happen to Bitcoin or the entire cryptocurrency market.

We may have another discounted altcoin period — I was able to purchase $PAY at around $0.65, $MGO at $0.62, & even $0.006 Siacoin! Oh yeah, got a ton of $WINGS at $0.25–30 too! They shot up to $0.45 last couple days and are now trending downward along with the rest of the market. Wish I would have caught this 10–15% drop before right now!

Number 5, 6, and 7 have been an absolutely close race for top spot as the market cap looks like:

5. Dash — $1,456,730,214

6. NEM — $1,429,218,000

7. Ethereum Classic — $1,396,943,323

These coins have been neck-and-neck with each other, but have maintained their general price stability throughout these volatile times — that’s a great sign to see as we lead up to the Bitcoin network upgrade. As time passes, the cryptocurrency market relies less and less on the Bitcoin blockchain network. Alternatives like Litecoin blockchain are progressing and maturing.

Bitcoin Network Upgrade As an Investor

After listening to The Cryptoverse by Chris Coney, many times and daily, he’s said over and over to store your Bitcoin offline — to put it into a wallet YOU have the private key to. This will help protect your Bitcoin during the August 1st upgrade in case the blockchain splits. If the blockchain splits and you DO NOT have your Bitcoin in your own private key-enabled wallet, the exchanges may decide which Bitcoin to give you.

You know how there’s an Ethereum & Ethereum Classic? Yeah — that. So that was a fork in the Ethereum blockchain and a group wanted to stick with the smart contract Ethereum Classic created while the majority clearly wanted to stick with the new upgraded Ethereum. So that could potentially happen to Bitcoin, but if your coins are on an exchange, the exchange will choose to give you, for instance, Bitcoin or a “Bitcoin Classic.”

This is a potentially harmful scenario to be in for any trader because, as we know, Ethereum sits at around $210 while Ethereum Classic is around $16…if you had 1,000 Ethereum on Poloniex when the fork occurred, Poloniex could then choose to issue Ethereum Classic to Ethereum holders, in turn making their 1,000 Ethereum previously worth $210,000 to $16,000 — that’s the main reason this whole Bitcoin network upgrade is such a big deal.

If you store it in your own wallet, from what I’ve heard, you will receive both the old Bitcoin network token AND the new Bitcoin network token. This could be beneficial long-term, but even receiving both coins in case of a fork, it will likely cause the Bitcoin price to plummet, along with much of the market. So both coins could be less than the OG Bitcoin. Although, we could also see a rising Ethereum phoenix from the ashes and a takeover of the cryptocurrency market dominance.

Store your Bitcoin, be VERY careful of purchasing coins right now, and follow along as we endure a volatile journey through the cryotucrrency markets! Feel free to sign-up to the CrowdConscious email list for exclusive cryptocurrency market content!

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