Cryptocurrency is the new favourite word for investors and geeks.
It’s one of the most exciting commodities to invest with its high volatile nature belonging to one of the most developing software .i.e. Blockchain.
Over the past 6-8 months, we have seen cryptocurrencies reach to the best of their prices and to the least of their prices as well.
Bitcoin touched $19,000 mark in December 2017, Ripple touched $3.84 mark in January 2018 when Japanese government put their stamp of trust over it.
Other cryptocurrencies like Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum experienced the same heights in 2017.
But after these skyrocketing numbers, cryptocurrency market had a quick fall.
They maintained their momentum at the beginning of 2018 but their prices fell fast and hard after that.
Bitcoin leapt from whopping $19,000 to $7000 and Ripple leapt from $3.84 to $0.76.
In brief, they have had their share of ups and downs in 2017 but what holds in the market for cryptocurrencies in 2018?
Will they soar to their old as well as new heights? Or Will they come crashing down harder and faster this time?
I am sure you have had the same question in the past or whenever you hear Bitcoin, Ripple or Cryptocurrency word in the news it makes you question their existence and their future as well.
We study the cryptocurrency market and here’s our prediction for cryptocurrencies in 2018.
Present Momentum of Cryptocurrencies:
Before we go and discuss what’s in the future of for cryptocurrency, let’s take a look at what’s happening these days in the cryptocurrency market.
After hitting the lowest point of $7,000 over January, Bitcoin is back on a good pace with the current price of $10,209.
On 19th Feb, Bitcoin almost soared to $11,000 when the investors started putting their money and faith back in Bitcoin after the correction of a small technical error.
At this moment, the market capitalization of Bitcoin is fluctuating between $160 Billion to $170 Billion.
Whereas Bitcoin is catching up on its pace, Ripple is a bit behind currently valued at $0.96/ Per XRP.
Other Present Day Prices of Cryptocurrencies:
| Currencies | Highest | Fell to (Lowest) | Present Day |
| Ethereum | $1,396 | $697 | $844 |
| Litecoin | $366 | $143 | $221 |
| Bitcoin Cash | $3,831 | $784 | $1,248 |
Cryptocurrencies went on to become one of the most expensive commodities of recent times before falling back to normalcy.
But the story doesn’t end here.
They are back on track to become the most expensive trading commodity there is!
And future predictions may have some concerns that you won’t like but the future for Cryptocurrencies seem to be brighter than ever.
Let’s discuss the future and the factors that will affect this new road for Cryptocurrencies.
Future Predictions and Affecting Factors:
Presently, the cryptocurrencies are not at their best or worst.
They are just picking up the momentum but the major hurdle they are facing is the government.
The governments aren’t legalizing the buying and selling of cryptocurrency and they are avoiding these volatile currencies at any cost. They are not ready to accept this unauthorized money exchange where they don’t have any idea about the transactions taking place.
Traditionally all the money you have is either in the bank or invested somewhere and banks are involved in these transactions where they can monitor your movements and your liquidity. They have all the information of one’s fortune.
This is known as the centralized system. Governed by a central authority.
Whereas Cryptocurrencies are decentralized currencies without any entity to govern the transactions. But that doesn’t make it unsafe for investing. A person has to complete a proper verification carried out by the network and are charged with standard transaction fees as well.
Limitations of Cryptocurrencies:
Cryptocurrencies being decentralized currencies where there is no government to manipulate and interfere with your monetary decisions and transactions are prone to many uncertainties as well.
Other limitations that cryptocurrencies presently face – such as the fact that one’s digital fortune can be erased by a computer crash, or that a virtual vault may be ransacked by a hacker.
Even though there are risks in buying cryptocurrencies as of now but in the future, they might not be so volatile.
All the above-mentioned limitations can be overcome in time through technological advances.
The irony of the cryptocurrency market is that they want to keep it decentralized but with the increasing traction worldwide it is possible that they will attract more regulation and government speculation.
Besides this, the merchants accepting cryptocurrencies as a payment option have increased but they are still in the minority part.
For cryptocurrencies to become globally accepted, they have to first gain universal faith and acceptance among consumers. However, their relative complex structure compared to regular currencies can become the reason for its unacceptance.
For cryptocurrencies to be a part of mainstream financial system, they have a long road ahead for them with such different criteria to satisfy.
First of all, It would be a huge challenge mathematically to elude the chances of hacking attacks and fraud and at the same time making it easier to understand and use for consumers.
Other issues they might face are: maintaining decentralized feature but at the same time having proper consumer safeguards and protection. Protecting consumers identification and providing total anonymity can encourage illegal activities like tax evasion, money laundering and steering clear from these can be the biggest challenge.
In regards to the future of Cryptocurrencies, Thomas Glucksmann of GateCoin told CNBC: “Increasing regulatory recognition of cryptocurrency exchanges, the entrance of institutional capital and major technology developments will contribute to the market’s rebound and push cryptocurrency prices to all new highs this year.”
He also added Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency, could be “pushing $50,000 by December 2018.“
Conclusion
While the possibility of Cryptocurrencies skyrocketing again seems higher, there are slight chances that the decentralization feature of cryptocurrencies could cause trouble to the cryptocurrency market in 2018.
But despite these shortcomings, cryptocurrencies have taken the world by storm after 2013 and they have progressed a lot since its conception in 2009.
Recently, BlackRock, an investment giant, mentioned Bitcoin and its chance of being more acceptable globally in their weekly report.
They said, “Our bottom line: We see cryptocurrencies potentially becoming more widely used in the future as the markets mature.”
But at the same time advised keeping away from them if you can stomach complete losses.
These were our predictions for cryptocurrency market in 2018.
What are your thoughts regarding the prices and future of cryptocurrencies?
Do you think that the governments will be able to keep its hands off of cryptocurrency and let it bloom in the future?
Comment below and let us know what you think about the future of cryptocurrencies.
Author Bio:
Sam Makad is a business consultant at BigAI. He helps small & medium enterprises to grow their businesses and overall ROI. He loves to write about topics on customer service, the blockchain, new technology, and marketing. You can follow Sam on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin.
