Bitcoin $3,000? Ex-fugitive cybersecurity legend sees ‘enormous momentum’ Need to Know

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What could go wrong?

Watch for No. 6 today.

The sixth win in a row for the S&P 500, that is. Not even OPEC disappointments seem able to derail U.S. stocks, with early gains for HP helping the mood. Oil has been on a wild ride so far, check out our chart of the day for that.

That other march higher — the rally for bitcoin /zigman2/quotes/31322028/realtime BTCUSD -0.11% and other cryptocurrencies — is also still going strong. A single bitcoin is fetching more than $2,700. Some out there seem to have no doubt that $3,000 is not far off:

Our call of the day comes from John McAfee, the colorful founder of the antivirus software company, former fugitive and now CEO of MGT Capital Investments /zigman2/quotes/201906604/delayed MGTI +1.25% .

“Bitcoin has enormous momentum,” McAfee says . And MGT is stepping up its bitcoin mining.

“Today’s announcement is transformational for MGT. Not only does it vastly improve our financial profile, but it positions us as the only public company in the space,” says McAfee, of the former video gaming company turned cybersecurity firm.

Others say there is plenty of reason to believe a crash could be coming for the currency that still baffles many. But McAfee’s enthusiasm comes alongside growing respect for bitcoin investors right now.

IG’s Chris Weston has this to say: “I genuinely can’t wait to see young tech heads driving down Collins Street in a new Aston, because they had the stones to be able to hold their exposure through what has been an exponential move without ever having taken profit.” (The Aussie is referring to a major Melbourne thoroughfare).

Bitcoin is the “mother of all FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) trades,” Weston writes . “Perhaps the fact I am putting so much focus on bitcoin suggests a top has been seen and I am the taxi driver contrarian indicator. We shall see, but our flows in bitcoin have been huge,” says the big brokerage’s strategist.

And check out the advice that Reddit bitcoin community member TotalMelancholy gave a fellow trader who made a bad move recently: “The key to trading altcoins is to set targets of 10-15% profit after buying into an altcoin, instead of the X00% people try to chase. 10% is very easy during a bull market like this, and it’s fairly low risk. It doesn't sound like much, but consistent +10% trades add up very quickly! Diversify, rinse and repeat and you’re pretty much sitting on a money tree.”

Read: Here’s why bitcoin may never go mainstream

Key market gauges

The Dow /zigman2/quotes/210598065/realtime DJIA -0.31% , S&P /zigman2/quotes/210599714/realtime SPX -0.23% and Nasdaq /zigman2/quotes/210598365/realtime COMP -0.09% are all higher at the open. That’s as the dollar /zigman2/quotes/210598269/delayed DXY +0.21% is slightly lower and gold is moving up. Check out our chart of the day to see what oil’s been up to on OPEC day.

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The buzz

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