The euphoria of the last few months has levelled off since the beginning of 2018. Crypto currencies had a not too good start. The 2018 Bitcoin exchange rate has fluctuated between nine and eleven thousand US dollars in recent weeks. Despite the initial teething troubles, analysts are convinced that there will be a bull market for crypto currencies in 2018. Bitcoin in particular could reach new dimensions.
Bitcoin profit – Improving Bitcoin’s Scalability
Nearly all crypto currencies have suffered immense losses in recent weeks. Of course, the big media are rushing to the headline that the bubble has burst and the end of Bitcoin profit is near. To bring it once briefly to the point: Bullshit. Especially in 2018, Bitcoin profit is experiencing serious changes that could result in a strong increase in value.
The current biggest problem of scalability requires new solutions and approaches, which will probably be implemented in 2018. SegWit (Segrated Witness) is now available in the Core Client. The number of exchanges implementing SegWit has also increased. With the steadily increasing acceptance, the Lightning Network has a fair chance to be successful. So far there is no official date when the Lightning Network will be available in Mainnet.
Lightning Network – The Bitcoin code
Due to the increase in transactions, the network was overloaded, so a transaction via Bitcoin code was very expensive (up to $20). With SegWit and Lightning, expensive transaction fees are a thing of the past. Currently, Bitcoin’s network can process up to 7 transactions per second. With the implementation of Lightning, it could be thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of transactions per second. With Lightning, the rules of the game could change completely and it would be possible to send coins in real time and without fees. The question you have to ask yourself here is which other crypto currencies actually have an added value compared to Bitcoin.
2018 – The year of regulations
At the moment there are countless governments dealing with crypto currencies, especially ICOs. Just a few days ago, we reported on FINMA, the Swiss government agency that has published guidelines on how to deal with ICOs. But regulations also have something positive, as this means that crypto currencies are officially recognized.
But we have a bubble!
That the crypto currency market has gone crazy over the last six months, I don’t think has escaped anyone. The focus was on cheap coins, regardless of whether they have a benefit, solve a problem or are the better or faster crypto currency. The financing phases are close to billions, as the latest example of the „ICO“ Telegram proves. In my opinion, the bubble lies in the area of ICOs, because blind investments are made in an idea. ICOs are now like sand on the sea, but really good ones are only a handful.