Clearly, the year that we are now leaving behind was not good for virtual currencies and the market. Analysts are now talking about what will be next for cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin during 2019. ICOBox was able to gather information about which could be three important things for virtual currencies and the market in the coming year.

The first thing they mentioned is related to the problems that blockchain technology is currently facing. Some of these issues include poor scalability, transactions that become slow, and a slow trend for the whole population to adopt blockchain technology.

Most of these problems will not be solved during the next year. However, developers will be working on these issues trying to provide better solutions and services to the virtual currency and blockchain markets. Bitcoin developers, for example, are currently working on improving the so-called Lighting Network (LN).

The LN is one of the most important solutions that Bitcoin could have for its scaling problems. It could allow users to send millions of transactions per second without the network becoming congested. At the same time, transactions will be processed for fewer fees than what they are currently being processed on the Bitcoin network.

Additionally, investors will be searching for better solutions such as faster networks, with more possibilities and with a higher degree of innovation.

It is also important to mark that during some months, Bitcoin remained relatively stable. The same happened to other virtual currencies. If Bitcoin operates with low volatility, that means that the market is also becoming more mature. More mature markets are also very positive for developers that will have the possibility to build all the projects and ideas they have.

The second point marked by ICOBox is the tokenization of assets. During Bitcoin’s boom, investors believed that Bitcoin was going to change everything in just a few months. However, this was not like that. The price increase experienced during 2017 was incredibly pushed by speculation. Back in December 2017, Bitcoin reached the impressive amount of $20,000.

Investors know that real estate, commodities and fine art have been stable and profitable investments over time. However, it is sometimes necessary a lot of capital to be part of the game.

During 2019, tokenization could be a very important trend that could have very positive effects on different portfolios. Users would be able to trade their assets in a similar way as stocks or money and they do not need to be tied up for years until the physical item is sold.

However, there are several assets that could be tokenized. This is a process that can start during this year but will surely continue during the next years.

The third and last trend that the ICOBox Blockchain Research Center (IBRC) mentions is enhanced security of personal information. During 2018, people realized that blockchain technology started to have positive effects on privacy. Several companies such as Facebook experienced different attacks and hacks that showed that blockchain technology could play a key role in improving and enhancing industry standards.

ICOBox believes that during 2019 people will start to take further steps to control their digital identities and information. The IBRC suggests that with more individuals trying to learn how to secure their privacy will learn about blockchain technology.

There might be a new trend of tech-savvy individuals that are not involved in virtual currencies that would develop new platforms for those who do not understand or know about the different technologies that are currently being improved in the market.

Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is a relatively new technology that can have very positive impacts on the market.

In this way, ICOBox shows that there is a very positive future ahead for blockchain technology and virtual currencies as a whole. IBRC is convinced that 2019 will be a ‘foundational year for crypto’ that will make the market grow in a sustainable way. The meteoric rise that virtual currencies had during 2017 generated more harm than good to cryptocurrencies.

In the near future, the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) could be approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Moreover, several companies and institutions are starting to build solutions for other institutions and wealthy investors to enter the cryptocurrency market.

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