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If we look back at 2018, it was a wild year. Most of the promises of 2017 have been broken. 2018 was a difficult year for cryptocurrency companies, cryptocurrencies themselves and for investors, of course. But beneath all this, we see some foundations of some very interesting things that have been built for the cryptocurrency and the bitcoin economy.
Tokens not fungible:
Non-fungible tokens or unique resources such as crypto-kittens will be a very important part of the cryptocurrency economy. It is already becoming a huge part and will continue to grow with the passage of time.
Security token offers:
Many people have talked about the offers of security tokens or STOs and the potential of STOs to completely shake the economy of cryptocurrency. The STO will surely be the new wave of money that will enter the economy of cryptocurrency. The large-scale tokenization properties, the actions, the fractional parts of the paintings and all these different things will be enormous. 2019 will probably see many STOs that are really happening and it will be exciting and probably will be the new boom in the markets. Even if the STOs could start in 2019, they could only become big in 2020. This depends on the speed at which the infrastructure is actually built to start the STO market.
Initial coin offers:
Although 2018 has shaken investor confidence, there are still good ICOs and as we go forward in 2019 ICO will simply have to do better, as investors are not throwing money on hopes and dreams like in 2017 although some these were very profitable for investors. ICOs will certainly continue next year, but we will see a far more professional offer that could mean that retail investors may not be eligible to invest in these ICOs. As ICOs become more professional, they may choose to use venture capital funds only.
Bitcoin ETF
Investors and Bitcoin enthusiasts are talking about the Bitcoin ETF for years waiting for the first ETF to be approved by the SEC. Leading people believe that Bitcoin ETF will definitely be approved, but nobody is sure when it will happen. 2019 may be the year for the approval of the first Bitcoin ETF. The SEC must give its final decision on the ETF VanEck Bitcoin at the next hearing, scheduled for 27 February 2019.
ICO projects
In 2019, we could see some other projects die. We could see some ICOs launched in 2017 that have run out of money, especially those who are still keeping their Ethereum alive. But not everyone will fail. Some of the projects we see right now will be the next Amazon and Google of the blockchain economy. The most suitable projects will not only survive but prosper.
Better Blockchain user experience
The current Blockchain user experience can not be called "fantastic". In order for the user experience to be really good, the people who use it do not even have to know that they are using Blockchain. That's where we have to be. When we get to that point, we will definitely be on board billions of users. We have already seen many movements in terms of improving the user experience and, in 2019, we are improving.
Lightning network:
The Lightning Network has developed significantly during 2018. 2019 could be a turning point for the lightning network and this could bring the bitcoin to a next level. Especially when we talk about things like micropayment, buying a cup of coffee, sending money for a package of bread, etc. While the flash continues to grow in power and relevance, 2019 will be very important for this.
To tie:
The tether has been one of the biggest controversies in the economy of cryptocurrency mainly due to their lack of transparency. Although Tether was quite useful as a whole for the cryptocurrency community, at the same time he brought a useless drama. In 2019, Tether could lose its place as the best stablecoin with more and more traders and investors moving to other more transparent stablecoin in the market such as USDC, Paxos, Gemini Dollar and TUSD. Some of these could exceed Tether in terms of market capitalization in 2019.
Regulatory clarity:
There are so many things in terms of tax regimes that disincentive people to actually use cryptocurrencies as a currency like countries like India and China that prohibit cryptocurrencies and others who say they love cryptocurrencies, but their parliament does not approve the favorable laws. As countries like Malta, Japan and Switzerland support bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies and related activities, we could see other large countries giving more regulatory clarity in 2019.
The rise of Dapps:
The Dapp really suffered from not having a large user base. We actually need a Blockchain-based Facebook-level application that would have millions of users and could come. Big companies like Kin are launching their cryptocurrency, a company like Line messaging that has over 60 million users who launch their cryptocurrency and the Whatsapp dollar if the rumors are true. All these combined things could potentially bring millions of users. Although some of these like the Whatsapp Dollar that could be on Facebook's Blockchain may not be decentralized.
Access increased:
Binance is planning to have 10 different legal currencies that can be accessed by Binance by the end of 2019. Currently, most of the trading is done in US dollars and Yen, but the economy of cryptocurrencies needs more legal currencies to grow further and spread through the world.
Ethereum:
Ethereum seems to take a long time to get where it needs to be and at that time we are seeing Ethereum losing its market share to competitors like TRON, Cardano, EOS etc. Which have already achieved the things that Ethereum needed to reach a year ago. Although, the team behind Ethereum is working day and night for updates that are not yet here and may require a longer duration than their competitors. We could see Ethereum losing its place in the first 5 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization and some other competitor who is probably doing faster and better will take over the position.
Will the bitcoin increase in 2019?
Although there are a lot of novelties such as the launch of Bakkt Exchange, the launch of futures on the Nasdaq Bitcoin in 2019, which is about to attract many investments in the bitcoin market, the price increase could be in 2020 during bitcoin halvening.
How good will 2019 be for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.
