Since the launch of bitcoin in 2009, the cryptocurrency industry has witnessed incredible growth. For many people, this seemed like a new trend that would soon go out of fashion. However, cryptocurrencies have endured with acceptance across industries. The digital currencies offer multiple benefits and solve the needs of the increasing number of online consumers. These benefits include secure, efficient, anonymous transactions, adaptability, and affordability among other things.
Whether you are cryptocurrency miner, a trader, or a consumer interested in cryptocurrencies, you must be wondering what the future of this industry looks like. While it is never possible to predict the future, one can easily tell how a specific market will turn out by looking at the current trends. Below are some predictions of the future of cryptocurrency.
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1. Continued Growth
According to industry projections, the cryptocurrency market will reach USD 1.40 billion by 2024. This growth comes against a backdrop of increased injections of funds by investors and the acceptance of digital currencies across industries. More people today are trading in cryptocurrencies even as more alternative coins emerge to compete against bitcoin.
The average number of daily crypto coins transactions today is around 328,000. In 2017 alone, there was over $6.2 billion investment in crypto startups. This highlights the growing trust both by individuals and tech companies in the future of this industry.
There’s more money coming into the industry through crypto mining hardware, new tokens, crypto mining software, blockchain technology, and other areas.
2. Alternative Coins in the Cryptocurrency Market
Bitcoin and Ethereum coins today rule the roost in the cryptocurrency market. However, this is not to say that the market is stagnant. Alternative coins continue emerging to cause disruption in the market once dominated by a few top coins.
Bitcoin market capitalization today stands at $184,357,666,577, commanding 67% of the market. There are altcoins eating into bitcoin applications across multiple industries. These include XRP (XRP), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Tether (USDT), Binance Coin (BNB), Litecoin (LTC), EOS (EOS) and Tron (TRX). Some of the game changers include TRX whose price surge has excited the industry.
3. Gaming Industry to Spur Cryptocurrency
One of the industries to embrace cryptocurrencies is gaming. The online gaming industry has continued growing in the backdrop of innovative technologies. Gamers and game developers have emerged as the main users of cryptocurrency in an industry were efficient transactions, confidentiality and anonymity are key.
Crypto and blockchain offer the gaming industry a solution to challenges such as secure payment and government regulations. These needs have seen the gaming industry emerge as the major use with cryptocurrency gaming emerging as a major trend.
4. Wait And See Regulatory Approach
While cryptocurrencies have been around for a decade, most governments have made little effort to regulate the industry. Many regulatory bodies have issued cautions on crypto trading but have not issued regulations.
With no regulation, many people now leverage the advantages of bitcoin gaming due to its credibility and stability above other coins. It is an industry that is the backbone of this cryptocurrency. Bitcoin miners make available new coins in the market while also securing transactions.
The U.S has maintained a hands-off stance not to be seen as one stifling technological growth. This is expected to continue over the next years even as central banks across the world try to come up with practical regulatory standards.
5. Bitcoin Will Hit $1 Million
John McAfee, the founder of the world’s top software security companies, predicted in 2017 that bitcoin would hit $1 million by 2020. Most people thought this was not possible but the current surge and interest in cryptocurrency now make this likely.
At most coin exchanges, bitcoin now trades at around $7,000 making the $1 million look far off. However, the growing acceptance of bitcoin across industries will push the price upward. With the increasing use of smartphones, more people will go for no-cash transactions with bitcoin being a major alternative. These are only a few of the reasons that will push the value of bitcoin.
6. More use of Blockchain Technology
Big data is now a reality and with it comes more stringent data privacy laws. Handling data in large organizations and governments will become more tedious and this is where blockchain technology will come in handy.
Blockchain technology provides effective data management and governments forward-looking governments such as Estonia have already set things off.
Final Word
These are only a few of the trends to expect in cryptocurrency markets. Whether you want to invest in cryptocurrency or you want to learn how it will affect your life, it is time to start watching these trends. It is a nascent industry less than a decade old but the ramifications cryptocurrency will have in the world are phenomenal. If you wish to invest in cryptocurrencies, learning about the future of the technology prepares you to make the right decisions.
