Is the Cryptocurrency Market Gaining Momentum?

Written By Monica Savaglia

Posted April 10, 2018

Without a doubt, 2017 was a crazy year for the cryptocurrency market. By the end of the year, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization had increased by almost $600 billion, from $17.7 billion to $612.9 billion.

It saw its biggest growth toward the end of the year. Between November and December 2017, cryptocurrency market capitalization surged.

On December 21st, the market cap exceeded $650 billion. It seemed like there was no stopping Bitcoin and other altcoins.

The total number of cryptocurrencies and digital assets on exchanges increased tremendously.

According to data from Coinmarketcap.com, in the beginning of 2017, there were 617 digital assets, which then increased to 1,335! Within one year, that number grew by more than half.

Things were heating up, and quickly. It was time to join the market. The quick success of the crypto market attracted everyone… and I mean everyone.

Everyone Wanted a Piece of Bitcoin

It attracted a lot of first-time investors — people who never in their life had traded before but, because they were being inundated with all things Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, couldn’t ignore what seemed like a great opportunity to make a huge profit.

The media and advertising outlets helped reaffirm this thinking. Headlines about Bitcoin were everywhere — there was no escaping.

This played a huge role in hyping up Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency market became a mania for a lot of people, especially first-time investors.

My dad and my brother, who had never invested before, were highly considering getting on the cryptocurrency bandwagon. After some heavy research, they decided to get on board, and they both began investing in altcoins.

Not everyone was as optimistic about this brand-new market, despite the fact that it was rapidly increasing in value almost every day. Those who weren’t knew a downfall of some type would be coming soon.

To an extent, those people were right.

The Crypto Decline

In 2018, we started to see the value of Bitcoin and other large cryptocurrencies fall.

Within just a few months, investors were seeing their once-gigantic gains turn into tremendous losses.

Naturally, it wasn’t the greatest feeling for investors who had just put a lot of money into cryptocurrencies, hoping for more gains.

In 2017, cryptocurrencies were getting so much attention that by the end of the year, you couldn’t read an article, talk with a coworker, or go online without seeing or hearing the word “Bitcoin.”

The market made a huge and fast impact on everyone’s lives and wallets. It was a success story that happened so quickly that it had institutional investors and the government scratching their heads. 

Not only that, but the market was something no one had ever seen before. It had no regulations. It was just making investors a lot of money.

The market kept getting larger and larger, and that’s when the government and institutional investors knew it was time to fight for some stability and regulations… especially since a lot of people were being scammed.

Things started to change for cryptos…

Investors weren’t sure what was going to happen in the market and what kind of regulations would be put into place. This resulted in a huge decline in valuation for a lot of the top cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.

On December 17, 2017, Bitcoin hit a high of $19,783. As I’m writing this on April 9, 2018, Bitcoin is at $6,731. That’s about a 66% decrease in almost a four-month span.

At the first sign of that gradual decrease, those early pessimists and skeptics gladly expressed their “I told you so’s” to investors who put their money into the crypto market and were now losing. 

There’s a lot of talk about how this could be the end of cryptocurrencies, but I don’t think that’s the case at all. We’re looking at a market that has begun to take a turn in the right direction. The market is maturing. 

Though the market started off the year on shaky grounds, analysts are predicting that there will be a surge in institutional demand this year. That surge could drive prices to new highs.

As regulations get set in place and there’s a better understanding of how to make the market less about volatility and more about cryptocurrencies and the technology involved, we could start to see the market get to a place where it can grow without the mania. 

Adrian Lai, cofounder of Orichal Partners, a cryptocurrency investment firm in Hong Kong, had this to say:

Regulators are not banning the development of cryptocurrencies, but are trying to better regulate the market, which should help the industry mature.

If the regulatory stance gets clearer, large funds will be more assured and willing to commit significant capital.

An increase in regulatory oversight is going to improve the market and allow for substantial growth. And the cryptocurrencies worthy of investment are going to withstand and benefit from regulations.

Bitcoin was the poster child for the crypto market. Now that the hype has fizzled, investors are looking for a cryptocurrency that will be able to thrive in a mature market.

But they should be looking at a corner of the stock market that’s booming because of cryptocurrencies. The cryptocurrency market created a huge investment opportunity — one of the biggest we’ll ever see in our lifetimes. 

It’s a technological revolution, and it’s what backs Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It’s known as blockchain.

It’s an amazing technology, and the investment opportunities are unfolding right now! Companies using this technology are already beginning to see the type of profits blockchain could bring them. However, these profits aren’t just limited to companies! You can get in on them, too…

Here’s your chance to learn more about blockchain and how you could be a part of its success.

Until next time,

Monica Savaglia Signature Park Avenue Digest

Monica Savaglia

Monica Savaglia is Wealth Daily’s IPO specialist. With passion and knowledge, she wants to open up the world of IPOs and their long-term potential to everyday investors. She does this through her newsletter IPO Authority, a one-stop resource for everything IPO. She also contributes regularly to the Wealth Daily e-letter. To learn more about Monica, click here.

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