Current Bitcoin Price: $6581 (as of 8:10 AM PST)

The charts are showing a splatter of red and green today, but it’s nothing too major either way. Bitcoin and Ethereum are down by around one percent each, but Ripple and IOTA are up over two percent.

Cardano is a big mover in the top-10: up by over 6%. Looking further afield, Ontology is down by almost 5%, knocking it off of the top-20 list down to 22nd.

Top Bitcoin & Crypto News Stories for 3rd July 2018

Crypto popularity spikes among hedge funds

Cryptocurrencies have been gaining a lot of traction among the public over the last year or two, and as a result, we’re starting to see more and more large-scale investment in the market.

It turns out that crypto is currently the fastest-growing segment of the hedge fund industry, with over $600 million having been invested so far this year — up significantly from last year’s total of just under $500 million.

South Korea to invest $200m in blockchain

Likewise, governments are starting to take serious interest in the blockchain technology that stands behind many cryptocurrencies, and its applications both financial and otherwise.

That’s been reflected in South Korea’s recent decision to invest over US $200 million in blockchain projects by 2022.

NEO takes first steps towards decentralization

NEO is the all-hot cryptocurrency project straight from China. Formerly known as AntShares, the currency sits at number 12 in the rankings — with a market cap of just under US $2.5 billion.

A mysterious tweet on NEO’s official Twitter page, written mostly in Chinese, has announced the “first step of decentralization” for the project.