2019-1-31 15:43 |
CoinSpeaker
7 Attention-Grabbing Cryptocurrency Trends that Will Define Business in 2019
Cryptocurrencies have become one of the biggest buzzwords of the business universe in the last few years. The blockchain-based technology is constantly on the rise and the entire market is projected to grow to over $2 billion by 2021.
Digital currencies owe much of the popularity to Bitcoin, the first and the most successful project that reached the peak price of almost $20 thousand in late 2017. However, Bitcoin experienced a harsh reality check in 2018, dropping to less than $4 thousand.
In such circumstances, it’s not surprising to hear potential investors asking one simple question: What is going on with the cryptocurrency market? It’s not easy to answer their question, but there are a few signs that can help us predict future trends in this field.
This article will present you the concept of cryptocurrency and show you seven attention-grabbing trends that will define business in 2019. Let’s take a look!
Cryptocurrencies: Definition and BenefitsA cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses strong cryptography to secure financial transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets.
The definition itself reveals some advantages of using digital money, but there are a lot more features to consider here. I will name only the most important benefits that cryptocurrencies bring to traders and investors:
Decentralization: As you probably know already, cryptocurrencies are not subject to any kind of centralized authority such as banks or governments. Blockchain experts at Scholar Advisor say decentralization means that owners control assets 100%, while there is no fear of inflation because developers create a limited amount of coins. Fraud prevention: Cryptocurrency transactions cannot be changed. They are immutable, which takes fraud prevention to the whole new level. Availability: Bitcoin transactions take only a few minutes and there is no third-party provider to check and inspect the process. In other words, the transfer is complete almost instantly and your assets are available quickly. Low transaction costs: Unlike bank and credit card transfers, cryptocurrencies charge you a low flat fee. Blockchain technology: Experts believe that another important advantage of trading cryptocurrencies is the chance to learn about blockchain technology: “It’s one of the most promising IT concepts that will not only change finance business but many other industries, too.” Top Trends to Change the Cryptocurrency MarketAs a relatively new niche, cryptocurrencies will certainly experience many changes in the years to come. It’s impossible to mention all of them here, but I can point out the most significant trends in 2019. Here they are:
Some projects will failThe first trend on my list is not so optimistic. Namely, I expect a number of startups to give up their projects. It’s not a new thing in the cryptocurrency universe, but it will occur more frequently. The most recent case is Basis. This crypto stablecoin project that raised around $133 million in April 2018 is terminating operations and is in the process of returning the capital it raised to its investors.
Security tokensInvestors are losing interest in Initial Coin Offering (ICO) campaigns because a lot of projects lack credibility and turn out to be complete failures. The solution comes in the form of the security token, a feature that gives startups and investors much more fundraising security. Security tokens are safer because they guarantee a real stake in the startup, which is not the case with ICO campaigns.
Scalability issuesScalability is yet another issue cryptocurrencies will be facing this year because it’s one of the main reasons why digital money is not getting as many followers as it should. For instance, Bitcoin supports up to seven transactions per second, while Ethereum can handle twice as many. Needless to say, this is way too slow and developers will have to find a way to boost scalability.
Lightning NetworkSpeaking of scalability, it seems like Bitcoin-focused off-chain technology called Lightning Network is going to face this issue relatively soon. The system is based on multi-signature wallets and additional payment channels, which should enable faster and cheaper coin transfers. Besides Bitcoin, Lightning Network is aimed at Litecoin as well, so it could give a big boost to this cryptocurrency as well.
State cryptocurrenciesCryptocurrencies have been around for 10 years and some countries are beginning to realize the potential in this field. Finance analysts at Proessaywriting say that the likes of Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and Russia already started experimenting with state-regulated digital money:
“While it is true that Germany, Japan, and Switzerland don’t want to deal with cryptocurrencies, the fact remains that the number of countries willing to experiment is constantly on the rise.”
Price stabilizationMany cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, have been experiencing major ups and downs price-wise. Last year was already much more stable in that regard, but I expect 2019 to be even flatter. Price volatility should be low and I don’t expect any digital coin to fall or grow by thousands of percentage points.
Cryptocurrency learningThe last prediction on my list is cryptocurrency learning. Namely, most people are still not familiar with the fundamental features, pros, and cons of cryptocurrency trading. This should begin to change now that the market proved to be stable. There are all sorts of learning resources available online, while a number of universities introduce cryptocurrency and blockchain courses.
ConclusionCryptocurrencies have become a major talk of the town in the last few years, mostly due to the incredible rise of Bitcoin. However, the whole market is subject to unexpected changes and potential investors find it hard to analyze and understand the state of digital currencies.
In this post, I showed you some cryptocurrency basics and presented seven attention-grabbing trends that would define business in 2019. I hope you enjoyed reading it, but let me know in comments if you need additional explanations – I will be glad to discuss this amazing topic with you!
7 Attention-Grabbing Cryptocurrency Trends that Will Define Business in 2019
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