2019 is the year cryptocurrency goes legit.

You already know the security value a blockchain platform offers its users. You know the excitement that comes with watching new coins explode onto the market. But the rest of the world needs to catch up.

Consolidate your gains now. We predict this next year is the one where the average Joe jumps on the crypto bandwagon.

What do we mean exactly? Which coins will pop, and what other innovations will the market see?

We’re glad you asked. We’ve run the numbers and consulted the crypto gods to find the cryptocurrency trends 2019 has in store.

Keep reading. Find out how you can pivot to make the most of the cryptocurrency market next year.

From Coins to Chains: Cryptocurrency Trends for the New Year

A good crypto forecast should be more than a report on the hot new coins. We do think those are important. We won’t forget to include them.

However, we have also scanned the horizon for technology trends that will change the market. We’re going to see a few currencies stabilize. We’re going to see a lot more respect from the financial world in general.

Here are our predictions. Evaluate them for yourself.

Bitcoin Stays Strong and Stabilizes

Bitcoin is the gold standard for cryptocurrency. We could say gold is the Bitcoin standard for regular currency. It’s that successful.

There is always instability in a new currency. Bitcoin is no exception. But we predict Bitcoin will come a long way this year.

We see Bitcoin growing steadily in value as the public becomes more familiar with it. At the same time, that means it will stabilize due to two-sided trading on the Bitcoin market. Thus, no more giant explosions in value.

This is good news and bad news. It’s good news for anyone who bought low on Bitcoin in the early days. It’s bad news for anyone who still looks at Bitcoin mining as a get-rich-quick scheme.

That kind of bad news is generally good for a currency, so we’ll take these gains as a win overall.

Ripple Gets All the Buzz

If you’re looking for the shiny new toy, turn your attention from Bitcoin to Ripple. We know Ripple has been around a few years now, but recent developments have made it more attractive.

This year, Ripple launched its xRapid product. xRapid is revolutionary. It allows large commercial customers to convert currency into XRP for rapid transfers.

Rapid transfer of currency across borders is a big breakthrough. Because of xRapid, Ripple is poised to make a big splash in 2019.

Increased Legitimacy as Institutional Money Enters the Market

Bitcoin futures will appear on the NASDAQ in 2019. That’s a big step in legitimizing cryptocurrency in the financial sector.

Because of this legitimacy, institutions are looking to invest in crypto. These investments will increase crypto’s legitimacy even more.

We’ll see how the NASDAQ experiment goes in Q1 of 2019. There are doubters. If they are proved wrong, we’ll see even more currencies hit the market for investment.

It’s a cycle of legitimacy.

New Evaluations

One of the other factors in the legitimacy cycle is the evolution of evaluation tools. So far, these tools have been relatively unsophisticated. That’s because these currencies don’t have long histories to draw from when predicting their future value.

As these currencies stabilize and stick around, evaluating tools get more sophisticated. Experts like Chris Burniske are developing new formulae for evaluation. Burniske’s formula adds velocity to the total size of assets, which he equates to the price of the digital resource plus its quantity.

General Decentralization

Cryptocurrency promises freedom. It appeals to investors who want to move their money around quickly. It appeals to those who aren’t afraid to take risks.

The security that blockchain guarantees in crypto investing makes this independence possible.

We predict this freedom will only grow in 2019.

Decentralized cryptocurrencies forego the blockchain. The blockchain can be a shadowy force, since it’s not exactly clear who controls which parts of it. Decentralized currencies put the power of investing back in the hands of investors.

Decentralized Exchanges

Decentralized cryptocurrencies still need models of organization, no matter how free they are. There need to be exchanges where you can trade them. Otherwise, they would have no value.

We predict the growth of such exchanges in 2019. There are a handful of these exchanges, called DEXs, already. But they need greater technical sophistication, and we expect those developments to come this year.

Decentralized Apps

Decentralization won’t just affect coins. Through smart contracts on the Ethereum platform, we’ll see developers collaborate in new ways.

A game called CryptoKitties has already used smart contracts on Ethereum to let users collect digital pets. The limitations of these contracts have to do with the low scalability of Ethereum’s blockchain. Once developers figure out that scalability, we’re going to see DApps pop up in even greater numbers.

Blockchain Keeps Blowing Up

As foreboding as it can be, blockchain seems here to stay. Yes, most companies’ blockchain platforms are minimally scalable. But these companies are pouring enough money into that problem to fix it quickly.

“Big Four” accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has seen demand for blockchain skyrocket this year. The firm reports that companies are spending on blockchain advisory to the tune of nearly $2 billion.

We like those numbers for predicting the continued growth of blockchain.

Mine Away

Cryptocurrency trends are the most exciting financial trends to follow. There is always a new currency or platform to research. As you dig deeper, you find the investments that diversify and strengthen your portfolio.

Are you looking to go from crypto novice to crypto pro? Let us show you how to start trading cryptocurrency as a full-time job.

In 2018 Chris Larson became the richest person in cryptocurrency with a net worth of $8 billion. Since then dozens of young investors have built their fortune through cryptocurrencies.

As you can tell from bitcoin millionaires and miners the market is booming. Despite all the success, the cryptocurrencies have a reputation for being volatile. None more so than the most popular cryptocurrency of them all Bitcoin.

Understanding the current market can seem like witchcraft. There are tons of complicated formulas and mountains of data to interpret.

With all this information you may be asking how do you get in on the market? How do you avoid the previous boom and bust cycles that have happened with cryptocurrency? What should you expect from Bitcoin in 2019?

If these are questions you find yourself asking than look no further. We’ve created a list of bitcoin price prediction for 2019 to help you maximize your investments.

How Do We Come Up With Our Predictions?

Since price predictions can be difficult to understand we want to demystify our process for determining the price of Bitcoin in 2019.

For our price predictions, we use a combination of cryptocurrency and analysts as well as crypto and hacker news sources. For analysts, we choose people who had experience working with investments on Wall Street and those have studied cryptocurrencies.

We have carefully searched cryptocurrency publications and general news sources for updates in crypto technology including new trading vehicles to see how these will impact the market.

We’ve also analyzed how the different trends in Bitcoin usage will impact the market. We have asked questions like “how will people using Bitcoin as an investment vehicle rather than a currency impact the market?”

We’ve also compared analysis over time to see how useful predictions are. We looked at 2018 analysis to see how accurate they were.

Then we compared these to 2019 to see the general trend of the Bitcoin market.

Bitcoin Price Prediction 2019

As Bitcoin reaches its 10th birthday in 2019 its price is beginning to stabilize and according to some its set to increase slightly. Most Bitcoin or BTC predictions for 2019 assume that the price will increase.

We predict that increased news coverage of cryptocurrency will lead to an influx of new Bitcoin investors. This is because of FOMO or fear of missing out. Many people want to get in on the latest trends and fear that by not participating they may be missing an opportunity.

With the introduction of new low-cost cryptocurrency trading sites many less experienced users will begin to see Bitcoin as a secure investment option. With these new trading, options will come more demand increasing the price of Bitcoin as an investment.

Bitcoin is most likely not going to become a standard medium of exchange. This means Bitcoin is most likely going to be used just as an investment vehicle, not a method of purchasing objects. Over 2019 the number of Bitcoin ATMs will begin to drop off.

One interesting prediction about Bitcoin is the number of young people who will use it as a form of transaction. It’s predicted that it will be more widely accepted in newer online stores.

Despite these facts, it’s still predicted that older generations will still be hesitant to use Bitcoin.

What Do Bitcoin Analysts Have to Say?

One of the best ways to understand the market is to ask the experts.

Mike Novogratz a banker who previously worked on Wall Street has made numerous predictions about the future of Bitcoin. He has predicted the value of bitcoin will pass $6800. With the current price of Bitcoin being around $6000, this seems like a conservative prediction.

He has also predicted an  influx of institutional investors. These are groups of investors that pool money to securities like cryptocurrencies. This prediction is based on the fact that in 2018 a number of digital assets investing services arrived on the market including 3Commas.

While some have predicted an increase in Bitcoins overall value  cryptocurrency analysis Wally Woo disagrees. He has predicted a sharp decline in the value of bitcoin until the middle of 2019. He bases these predictions on the transaction value Bitcoin which has dropped below its support level.

Some have predicted that the Bitcoin crash is over. They have predicted that the price of bitcoin will top out at around $25,000.

Luke Lombe who is the head of blockchain at PlayChip global predicts that Bitcoin price will be double where it is now settling at around $12,600. Other analysists are more hopeful. Both Hans Battle, CFO of Incremint and Kyle Fournier a cryptoanalyst feel the 2019 price will settle around $10,000.

Some Crypto experts have more faith in the resiliency of Bitcoin. Collins Brown a co-founder of the site MarketProtocol predicts that the price will be around $14,000 at the beginning of the year. Danny Scott the CEO of CoinCorner predicts a similar level off at around $15,000.

Overall Market Trend

The overall market trend of crypto is towards more investments and less toward purchases.

The trend is leaning more toward putting money into platforms rather than into individual coins. Putting money into individual platforms has been a proven moneymaker. As platforms are releasing more new features their popularity will more likely increase even as the price of coins stagnates.

The market is also becoming more accessible to people who are less tech savvy. As media start to focus on Bitcoin as an investment option new sites will arise to help new investors enter the market.

BTC predictions for 2019 include the SEC rejecting more EFT or exchange-traded funds for Bitcoin. In 2018 several EFT’s have been rejected in an attempt to prevent fraud and misuse. In fact, Reggie Brown who is the Godfather of EFTs has expressed that there isn’t hope of the SEC approving Bitcoin EFTs.

There is also speculation the SEC will crack down on Bitcoin scams like fraudulent ICOs (Initial coin offerings). Currently, the market remains mostly unregulated leading people to manipulate the market.

Comparison to 2018

We want to put our predictions for Bitcoin prices in 2019 into context so we are going to go over the current 2018 market.

Bitcoin or BTC predictions for 2018 were overpriced. This is because 2018 came right on the heels of record high Bitcoin prices causing extremely high BTC price predictions.

One of the most popular predictions was for the BTC price to reach $160000. At the time the price prediction was made the price of bitcoin had gone up and down 30x in the past 24 months.

Over the year the price has gone down and continued to drop leading to some analysts to have pessimistic views about the price of Bitcoin. In 2018 the highest price of Bitcoin was $10,300 falling short of many previous predictions.

In 2018 Bitcoin became more mature as an investment option. This is partially due to Bitcoin Futures. Bitcoin futures allows people to bet against Bitcoin and to resolve contracts with money. This product also allows people to place bets on the value of Bitcoin without actually owning any cryptocurrency.

On December 17, 2017 Bitcoin futures came out leading to more safe and clear investment. Though mostly aimed at Bitcoin miners who have to deal with future uncertainty. This lead to more conservative investors considering Bitcoin to be a serious option for making money.

In 2018 bitcoin sales dropped due to the fact that much of the excitement of early 2017 had died down. This left much of the market to serious investors.

Bitcoin vs Other Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin is the leader in the crypto market and has experienced the most growth in the Crypto market. It’s impossible to completely understand the impact of Bitcoin predictions without looking closely at how the market will change for other similar cryptocurrencies.

The first coin compression is to Ethrrerum. The second most popular cryptocurrency on the market.

Currently, it’s value has  dropped by 76% this year alone compared to a  70% drop from Bitcoin.

In 2019 almost all analysists predict that it’s going to increase in value. The lowest prediction is $360 while the highest is around $550. Ethereum will produce a 100% return on investment. Compared to Bitcoin which most analysists agree is going to either stay stagnant or increase only slightly.

Ripple is a coin with a much lower current value. It is currently worth $20 and its value is predicted to drop to around $0.01. Though this forecast has been disputed because Ripple is considered the most advanced Crypto. Compared to Bitcoin it’s future does not look good.

Currently, Ripple is going through a number of lawsuits causing many to question whether it can recover from its drop in 2018.

Like Bitcoin new technology has affected its overall price. While Bitcoin has released Bitcoin Futures Ripple unveiled xRapid. This technology makes global transactions easier making it more likely for Ripple to become more popular for transactions rather than investments.

Bitcoin vs Other Investment Outlooks

The price of gold and other precious metals is going to be around $1200 and $1300. This is a smaller increase than Bitcoin but has a much longer history than cryptocurrency.

Bonds have routinely been a far more stable investment than any other option.

Compared to Bitcoin this investment promises a return on investment and safety that cryptocurrency usually doesn’t. With the interest rates on bonds set to rise as the economy improves they prove to be stiff competition for Bitcoin.

But Bitcoin despite its risk has the option of enormous growth.

The market for stocks is set to be unstable in 2019. Though interest rates are rising the risk associated with the reward is great. Despite this stocks are still seen as the primary investment vehicle.

There are other advantages that stocks have over bitcoin. Stocks often allow shareholders to make money but they also have voting rites over a company making them a more popular investment. Though Bitcoin currently allows investors to get in early before the marker becomes overcrowded.

Avoid Volatility in the Bitcoin Market

The overall outlook Bitcoin price prediction in 2019 is set to increase. But overall cryptocurrency has proven itself to be an extremely unstable investment. There are ways to outsmart the market and avoid this instability.

One of the best ways to avoid this uncertainty is to convert the Bitcoins to fiat currency and then to store it in an exchange wallet.

Bitcoin is also facing serious competition as a method of currency with Stablecoin. This coin is designed to present a less volatile alternative to Bitcoin. These coins can be backed by either paper currency and other traded commodities.

This is likely to affect Bitcoin by reducing its market price and devaluing the coin.

One of the best ways to avoid volatility is to balance your portfolio with other investments. Because Bitcoins have gone through a boom and bust cycle in the last year there is an increasing need to have a diversified portfolio to protect wealth.

If you’re interested in investing in the Bitcoin market in 2019 you may want to take advantage of stop losses and take profit orders.

Stop losses are orders that you sell your investment once it reaches a price that’s too low. Profit orders are agreements to sell the investment once you’ve made a certain amount of profit. Though both these options are great for reducing volatility both have problems as they don’t allow their investment to mature.

Start Investing in Cryptocurrency Today

Bitcoin price predictions for 2019 will most likely increase and then stay stable. This contradicts the endless growth that happened from 2015 through 2017. But the market is still young and prime to grow over time.

If you dream of building wealth through cryptocurrency it all starts with a basic investment. Finding the right place to invest can require tons of research and money.

If you want to become a Bitcoin investor contact us today!

Retirement is years away. But the very thing you should be looking forward to right now is honestly scaring you more than you’d care to admit.

Will you truly be ready for your golden years financially?

You’ve already invested in stocks, but you keep hearing about bitcoin, too. And you wonder if you’re missing out by not investing in it, too.

Research shows that more millennials (those ages 18 to 34) know about bitcoin than those ages 65 and up.

Also,  30% of them would rather put $1,000 into bitcoin versus stock.

So, exactly which is the better investment opportunity? Here’s a glimpse at the difference between investing in cryptocurrency vs stocks.

Let’s get started!

Cryptocurrency vs Stocks

In our discussion of stocks here, we’ll focus on the major tech companies’ stocks. This is because they’ve performed exceptionally well during the last five years.

The stocks we’re specifically referring to are often called the FANG stocks (Facebook, Google, Amazon, Netflix).

These companies have all seen major returns during the last five years. Netflix takes the lead in this area, followed by Amazon and then Google.

Because of their major returns, the FANG assets have attracted a great deal of attention lately.

But did you know that cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, can provide even greater returns for today’s investors as well?

Research shows that bitcoin’s returns during the last five years have been greater than those for all of the world’s other currencies.

When you look at bitcoin’s potential for returns, plus its resilience and reliability, it’s easy to see why so many investors are becoming increasingly interested in cryptocurrencies.

A Look at Your Retirement Portfolio

Bitcoin is quickly entering more people’s radar as an investment option for their retirement portfolios.

If investors had bought bitcoin in 2013 (it was near zero), they would currently be returning profits.

However, this cryptocurrency’s price has shown a lot of growth and fluctuation over the years.

For this reason, it’s been challenging for the typical investor to get involved in bitcoin with confidence.

Of course, this comes with the territory of pricing emergent digital assets that don’t have a predecessor.

These days, though, the market has become more secure and liquid.

On top of this, regulatory guidance has become increasingly strong.

As a result of this, the bitcoin market is maturing, and cryptocurrency is becoming more widely adopted.

In fact, research shows that the number of bitcoin transactions each day has increased upwards of a couple hundred percent during the last couple of years.

In light of this, investors have a reason to feel confident about cryptocurrency’s existence and viability long term.

After all, it would be hard to shut down cryptocurrency at this point.

More on Bitcoin’s Long-term Potential

What makes bitcoin an especially smart investment today? It has proven to remain successful even during economic downturns lasting several years.

Only  21 million bitcoins can be mined. This asset class’s scarcity coupled with the increasing demand for it abroad makes this cryptocurrency’s growth a safe bet in the medium term.

Also, the increasing difficulty of mining bitcoin places extra pressure on exchange pricing globally. As a result, miners can successfully meet their costs of operation.

Another important consideration is the security of this digital currency.

To date, the bitcoin network hasn’t been hacked, and the network continues to operate securely and properly.

The Truth about Hedging Against Downfalls

FANG stocks and other traditional assets have a tendency to correlate and cluster.

However, bitcoin is independent of the traditional pressures that often distort markets.

These pressures include, for example, company performance, public stakeholders’ institutional confidence and reporting at the end of the quarter.

As a result, bitcoin offers a wonderful hedge against the possible downfalls of your traditional assets.

The fact that it’s an open-source, distributed project that has no centralized authorities or organization overseeing it makes it that much more attractive.

Final Note about Bitcoin and Stocks, Especially Amazon Stock

When it comes to productivity, the FANG assets are no doubt productive. Amazon is especially recognized for being bullish.

In fact, Evercore voted Amazon as the  best stock in 2017.

However, bitcoin is even more productive than the established Amazon has been.

If you were to compare bitcoin’s and Amazon’s returns, you’d see that Amazon’s outperformed bitcoin’s in just one in four years.

This digital currency has also outpaced the other strong FANG stocks when it comes to performance.

So, what’s the key takeaway here?

You, like many other investors, may understandably be nervous about taking the plunge into bitcoin investing.

However, its historical performance in the world of investing speaks for itself.

You can rest assured that this cryptocurrency will continue to generate strong returns in the years to come.

How We Can Help

We offer convenient tools for diving into the world of cryptocurrency trading.

With our help, you can automate your trading of cryptocurrency and receive guidance from the world’s best traders.

This is how our SmartTrade platform works: You can easily open trades and plan both Take Profit and Stop Loss simultaneously.

Let’s say that you would like to make a purchase when a cryptocurrency price reaches a certain level. Or maybe you’d like to set step TPs for your orders.

Perhaps you’re interested in selling your current position at a target price.

You can effortlessly do all of this with the SmartTrade terminal, which you can access from any device.

Get in touch with us to find out more about cryptocurrency vs stocks and why moving toward cryptocurrency may be the best financial move you could make.

With our help, you can start earning a profit in just 10 minutes, and you can be well on your way to fulfilling your financial and retirement goals long term.

Amidst the unstable crypto regulations across different countries and the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency, staying updated on regulatory changes is crucial.

These updates are geared towards helping you to be aware and stay compliant in your trading journey. Here are the latest developments you need to know:

Binance License in France 

Binance France gets a new owner following regulator warnings; CEO Changpeng Zhao is no longer Binance's beneficiary if it wants to keep its French license. 

The Financial Markets Authority (AMF) in France had earlier sent a warning to Binance in December 2023. As was reported by Cointelegraph, the AMF had informed Binance France that it had to take action in response to the problems that arose between the original beneficial owner and the United States Justice Department, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. 

This was in response to the withdrawal of former Binance CEO Changpeng from the company after pleading guilty to Anti-Money Laundry in the US.

The new names of the beneficiaries of Binance France were not provided. Binance France said they were both members of the founding team at Binance. The Pappers information service listed them as Lihua He and Yulong Yan.

Worldcoin Trading Ban Imminent?

Regulators across the world are banning Worldcoin amidst privacy fears; Worldcoin which currently has a market capitalization  of over a billion and over 450 million in trading volume has been banned in countries like India, Kenya, Germany, Brazil, South Korea, and Spain.

Worldcoin, an AI-centric identification project, is reportedly collecting biometric data of individuals and rewarding them with 25 WLD tokens which is worth around $115. 

Regulators around the world are banning the project citing that the project is a critical threat to individual privacy of users.

Thailand Offering New Visa for Digital Nomads

The Thai government has announced a new visa class for remote workers that can be extended for up to 360 days. There are still no clear details on income and tax liabilities.

The local outlet, Kahosod English, reported that the Thai government has introduced the new Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) for those wanting a workcation.

Kahosod reports that the new DTV has a $270 fee (10,000 Thai baht) and is valid for five years. It offers a 180-day stay which can potentially be extended for another 180 days subject to the same fee, giving holders the chance of working from Thailand for nearly 12 months at a time.

Nevertheless, the new DTV is different from the Long Term Residents (LTV) "Work-from-Thailand" visa, often referred to as a digital nomad visa, which is much harder to obtain.

Terraform, Do Kwon to Reach Settlement With US SEC.

Terraform Labs and CEO Do Kwon are finalising a settlement with the US Security Exchange Commission. Both parties are expected to submit the final terms for court approval by mid-June.

Terraform and Kwon were legally found responsible for defrauding investors in its civil case with the SEC in February. US SEC had sought approximately $5.3 billion for the significant financial penalty attributed to investors losing their money in the algorithm stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) collapse. 

FIT21 Implementation Could be a Slow Process — CFTC Commissioner.

Summer Mersinger, Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has predicted that the implementation of the FIT21 Act can potentially take months, even years to fully go into effect.

What is the FIT21 Act? - FIT21; Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act is a comprehensive market structure bill that will protect consumers, ensure crypto companies have robust rules, create clarity for job creators and blockchain builders, and 

ensure that the digital assets ecosystem thrives in the US.

The FIT2 bill has successfully passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support and is now facing its next challenges in the Senate. Once it becomes a law, the regulatory bodies like the SEC and CFTC will enforce the new law and this is a Slow Process where public comments are sought and reviewed. This process can potentially take several months, though.

Citadel-backed Hidden Road Halts Bybit Access to its Clients

Hidden Road, a Citadel-backed brokerage firm, has stopped its clients from accessing ByBit exchange citing Know-Your-Customer verification procedures and Anti-Money Laundering regulations. 

ByBit responded to the new development affirming that it would conduct an audit of its brokerage business to ensure that the regulatory policies were correctly implemented.

Gate.HK Shuts Down After Failing to Acquire Local License 

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Gate.HK has closed down; The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has mandated all crypto exchanges in the region to stop their services if they fail to acquire an operational license by May 31st.

OKX, Huobi Amongst Others to Withdraw Local Virtual Assets Trading Platform (VATPs) License Application in Hong Kong.

A total of 11 crypto companies and exchanges, including the OKX and Huobi local arm, withdrew their applications ahead of the June 1 deadline, with 18 applications still pending approval.

According to Cointelegraph reports, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has explained that the commission will be conducting on-site inspections of (VATPs) that are still going through their regulatory applications after the deadline.

According to the SFC website, only two companies, OSL Digital Securities Limited and Hash Blockchain Limited, have been granted a licence to operate in the region.

What You Should Know: As a 3Commas trader, you should be armed with the latest news updates to keep you informed and stay compliant with the ever changing regulations. These news updates will help you to know which exchange is still functional in a particular region. It will also give you fundamental insights to the coins you are trading and other interesting news to stay ahead of the curve.