While cryptocurrency is more popular, allowing individuals to exchange money in a safe, transaction fee free, borderless way, they do not yet play a significant role in the financial sector despite being around for around since Bitcoin founded in 2009.
Designed to bypass banks and governments, cryptocurrencies being implemented into everyday transactions would cause big losses to both, which has historically led to resistance. Yet 2019 is the year wherein which institutional money will finally enter the cryptocurrency market. This will undoubtedly be a game changer for the crypto market, so a sound investment can be made, with promises of ups and downs just like 2018.
While large investments for a good return are best made with already established currencies, smaller investments with the hope of great returns may work with lesser-known currencies or those still in the development stage, yet to be launched.
Bitcoin is expected to rise from a current £2,800 to £16,000 by the middle of 2019 as more people trade in the currency. The more trading, the higher the price will be, and the upper figure could be surpassed. The days of Bitcoin reaching the heights of £155,000 are unlikely to be reached again as more technologically advanced cryptocurrencies enter the market.
Ethereum is a strong and promising investment, though already there are more competitors, using more sophisticated blockchains. The projection for 2019 is that the current value of £94 will rise to between £312 to £390.
Believed to have potential as one of the main alternatives to Bitcoin, LTC has the average block mining time of 2.5 minutes against Bitcoin’s 10 minutes and has attracted active investors. Like most cryptocurrencies, Litecoin has been volatile but is expected to be more stable in future. The current value of LTC is £32 and in 2019 is expected to rise to between £62 and £78.
With corporate investors like Google and of banks, Ripple has slowly risen to be the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap after Bitcoin. The principles at Ripple are very different to other cryptocurrencies since it was created for large financial institutions rather than individual users, making cross-border payments fast and cheap, makes it a stable investment. If investment comes from institutions, the value could rise from the current £0.24 to around £15.
Monero is also used in the darknet market, so it is not so easily available on exchanges. With, proof of work verification standard, Monero will hold value. Monero also has strong community support due to being based on the principles of decentralisation and privacy, key values for investors and traders. Currently, over 180 contributors support the blockchain, which means that its value is expected to grow from its current £35 to around £390.
New cryptocurrencies are being introduced all the time. These are extremely volatile, but researching the cryptocurrency, blockchain, and development team behind it could reap high rewards once listed on a major exchange.
