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2018 was a brutal year for the bitcoin price. Shortly after reaching an all-time high, the crypto bubble exploded. In the following twelve months, the price of bitcoin slowly dissolved to close the year slightly down.
Bitcoin started 2018 a $ 13.464 and ended the year a $ 3,742 – a loss of 72%.
The total market capitalization of cryptocurrency has decreased $ 626.6 billion to $ 125.6 billion – a decrease of 80%.
How did bitcoin lose 72% in price?
To understand the phenomenal decline in prices, we must return to 2017: a year of irrational exuberance and clamor in the encrypted space. Bitcoin has become a mainstream issue and hundreds of new cryptocurrencies have emerged. "The initial coin offerings" promised easy returns.
But the mania quickly turned into anguish. While millions of people poured into the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin clashed with serious problems of downsizing, hindering its adoption as a currency alternative.
And the reality of the ICO has been laid bare. Most projects have not been able to keep their wild promises. Many were nothing but scams designed to separate investors from their money.
The price drop of 72% in 2018 was the dose of reality.
The fall in Bitcoin prices triggers layoffs across the industry
As the year progressed, the blockchain and cryptocurrency firms began to announce layoffs. Many of these companies had raised funds in cryptocurrency, so the dramatic price falls apart on their operational funds.
ConsenSys, a company that supports new projects on the Ethereum blockchain, announced a 50-60% reduction in personnel. Steemit, a blogging platform powered by cryptocurrency, has lost 70% of its staff.
In addition, high-profile layoffs, Bitmain, the world's largest bitcoin mining company, are downsizing with 50% of those at risk. And the exchange of cryptocurrencies Huobi is simplifying his team, even if the exact numbers have yet to be revealed.
This is the harsh reality of the "crypto-winter".
$ 1 billion of cryptographic hacks
The discussion on the safety of cryptocurrencies has returned to the spotlight after the biggest news exchange in history occurred in January 2018. Coincheck was hacked for $ 532.6 million with additional hacks at Bitgrail and Bithumb over the course of the year. year.
The constant hacks have weakened confidence in the cryptographic exchange ecosystem and have further put pressure on bitcoin price sales.
Some progress has been made with a milestone in the insurance encrypted by the Winklevoss twins. All funds on their Gemini exchange and custody service are now fully insured.
Even traditional players are entering the ring when Fidelity has announced an encryption service. Expect safe custody services, ie bitcoin banks, to develop at a fast pace in 2019.
Bitcoin hits a regulatory brick wall
Cryptocurrency regulation continued to hamper progress in 2018.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken action against numerous ICOs. The SEC president concluded that "every ICO I have seen is a security", which means that stricter rules must be applied to investors.
China has maintained a ban on the exchange of cryptocurrencies, while the South Korean authorities raided the trade on charges of money laundering and tax evasion.
In particular, the SEC has rejected or rejected at least nine funds traded on the bitcoin exchange (ETF). The inevitable launch of a bitcoin ETF is often cited as an important catalyst for the price of bitcoins, but continued delays have weighed on cryptography prices throughout 2018.
Any good news for the bitcoin price?
There are a lot of potential price triggers that we will not see now that they arrive in 2019. The aforementioned Bakkt platform is expected to be in early 2019. Bakkt is a real-time fixed-term trading service. bitcoin and is supported by ICE, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange.
We will continue to see the bitcoin ETF proposals launched at the SEC. At least one SEC commissioner, Hester Peirce, supports bitcoin and serious debates are taking place. Expect to dominate the conversation with bitcoins for the next year.
Elsewhere, huge jumps are being made in cryptocurrency technology. The lightning network is rapidly gaining ground trying to facilitate micropayments for bitcoins. Blockstream satellites are now broadcasting the blockchain on every mainland on Earth, eliminating the need for Internet access for bitcoin transactions.
Ethereum and Ripple Price overview 2018
Ethereum has been worse than bitcoin until 2018, with a decline of 85%. ETH started the year at $ 880 and ended at $ 133.
The XRP ripple also decreased by 85%, starting the year at $ 2.31 and closing at $ 0.35.
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