2017 was revolutionary for cryptoeconomy
Cryptocurrency specialists think that 2017 was a milestone year, as the public life has been upgraded with the new economy and new mentality paradigm. Despite the fact that the concept of decentralization has arrived not in this year exactly, it was in this year when the public has demonstrated a cosmic boom of interest towards it. Now it’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t speak about blockchain technologies.
It was also during this year when the authorities started to review cryptocurrencies and their influence on the state economy. Some of states categorically forbade cryptocurrencies, while some, contrariwise, saw a new chance for economic development and currently plan out the cryptocurrency sphere implementation in traditional economic systems.
All in all, one can highlight three most notable events happened on the crypto field.
1. Bitcoin has demonstrated leviathan records of dollar price growth. At the beginning of this year, everybody dreamt of $3000 for Bitcoin in December and thought it might not happen. The most daring ones predicted $5000. But at the press time, Bitcoin is traded on exchanges over $14,830.
Bitcoin’s price has multiplied greater than by 15 times. The price peak has been witnessed on 17th of December – $20,089 per coin. Bitcoin capitalization has grown 17 times more, to $265.9 mln dollars by the end of the year.
Pic 1. Bitcoin price dynamics
Source: Coinmarketcap.com data
Following Bitcoin’s growth, altcoins have grown too. For example, Ethereum is the second most capitalized cryptocurrency.
| Coin | Growth | Price (29.12.2017) | Cap (29.12.2017) |
| Ethereum | x 89 | $750.60 | $72.5 bln |
| Ripple | x 225 | $1.59 | $61.5 bln |
| Bitcoin Cash | x 6 (during the months it existed) | $2,535 | $42.8 bln |
| Litecoin | x 55 | $250 | $13.6 bln |
| Cardano | x 16 (during the months it existed) | $0.433412 | $11.2 bln |
Table 1 – Yearly Top Five altcoins price increase
Source: Coinmarketcap.com data
2. The use of ICOs as a means of alternative investment attraction mechanism for various projects. And their tremendous success, experts also believe. The classic raise of investments, even of half a million dollars, demands a great deal of work to prove the investors that the project actually deserves such money.
Financial, legal, tax, and technical checkbacks, countless talks, terms and agreements on them, vouching, guarantees etc. are also worth mentioning. And all this aside, the project must already work or at least exist. When it comes to crypto, things are different here – millions of dollars are raised without any legal obligations, based just, as it often happens, on the pure idea.
3. The third event that, as specialists believe, influenced on the cryptocurrency market is the launch of Bitcoin futures. This is how the holders of institutionalized capital have acquired an exchange tool to enter the cryptocurrency market.
There are already many speculations on how the market is going to evolve in 2018. Crypto adepts expect the rise of Bitcoin to $100 thousand, crypto skeptics – the collapse of both cryptocurrencies and ICOs. There are, however, more moderate prognoses as well.
For instance, Yulia Plavnik, expert on crowdfunding and assets tokenization from BoatPilot, notes the following: “I don’t want to accentuate the negative, but clearly, there will be more judicial proceedings with ICOs which do not follow their own roadmaps. And I’m certain there are going to be many projects like these.” Apart from this, the expert also thinks that ICO procedural standards will be developed and the flow of cryptocurrency will become seriously regulated by laws. Also, one should expect the raise of finance via ICO by projects connected with the real economy.
Bitnewstoday wishes the cryptocurrency market a happy New Year, loyal legal norms, interesting ideas and grand projects!