In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re already well into the start of the last quarter of 2019. Another wild one in the crypto world is drawing to a close but there are still almost three months of action to squeeze out of the year. Unlike the grueling crypto winter of 2018, 2019 will most likely be regarded as the year of consolidation despite its ups and downs. Here, we take a look at the top three cryptocurrency trends for the coming months.
Top 3 Cryptocurrency Trends for the Rest of the Year
It appears to be anyone’s guess as to how the markets will finish up the end of this year. With another rejected Bitcoin ETF and a meager start for Bakkt, it’s possible the bears will take hold.
However, as blockchain continues to find more use cases, governments consider issuing their own cryptos, and innovations keep appearing, we may yet see a bullish rise before we say goodbye to 2019.
We’ve seen more institutional involvement, institutional drop-out, and clamping down from the SEC regarding unregulated ICOs. Facebook’s monumental leap into crypto appears to have been hampered so far–but can it be halted completely?
Let’s take a look at the top three crypto trends that will mark the industry as the year comes to an end.
1. Governments Exploring Their Own Cryptocurrencies
When Bitcoin first came about, very few people paid attention, especially people in high places. In fact, for the first almost eight years of Bitcoin’s existence, central banks and governments outrightly dismissed it. JPMorgan Head Jamie Dimon even called Bitcoin a “fraud” in 2017. But in 2019, JPMorgan issued its own cryptocurrency–the first US bank-backed cryptocurrency.
It seems that JPMorgan is not alone. Throughout the globe, a pattern is starting to emerge as governments start to see the benefits of a cryptographically secure currency system. Several of the G20 leaders are currently exploring how to incorporate cryptocurrencies into their current fiat money system.
China is planning on launching its own cryptocurrency as early as November, and the tiny sovereign nation of the Marshall Islands is preparing the groundwork for the world’s first crypto-fiat-currency, the SOV which will be its legal tender. The trend is clear and looks likely to grow more dominant over the coming year.
2. Commission-Free Trading
Ever since the brokerage firm Robinhood Markets Inc. became the first-ever commission-free brokerage firm in 2013, we’ve seen how powerful commission-free trading can be. So much so, in fact, that Robinhood is now worth over $7 billion and has more than 4 million active users.
These eye-opening numbers coming from a brokerage that doesn’t charge any fees finally caused the “big three” online brokerage firms to review their fee-charging models. Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, and TD Ameritrade all began to offer commission-free trading to their customers this year–and the trend is spreading to cryptocurrencies.
On November 30, Digitex Futures Bitcoin futures exchange will open up its public testnet to the first 10,000 people on its mammoth waitlist. The platform will be in beta mode for a while to start with but it will give traders an idea of what commission-free trading can bring to crypto. This will allow short-term traders like scalpers to make a profit without losing profits in the shape of commission fees.
Digitex CEO Adam Todd believes that removing commission fees will create highly active and liquid markets that will attract more and more traders. Time will tell if he is right and if this tendency will carry on into next year and spread to other exchanges.
3. Major Blockchain Overhauls
When NEO came out at the start of the year admitting that its next upgrade would mean moving it to a new blockchain, many of its opponents rolled their eyes. However, now we’ve seen the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap Ethereum also publicly recognize that Ethereum 2.0 requires the same style of overhaul, a new trend is becoming clear.
The blockchains of yesterday are unlikely to be the blockchains of the future. They have faced limitations with scaling, speed, and transaction cost. NEO and Ethereum are unlikely to be the only ones to make major overhauls to their networks in the coming months, so this trend is one to watch out for.
The Takeaway
The final three months of 2019 will undoubtedly provide a lot of action and surprises before the year closes. It wasn’t so long ago that governments and central bankers laughed in the face of cryptocurrency. Now, it’s top of their agenda.
One of the Best Bitcoin Brokers said that Blockchain infrastructure is maturing and commission-free trading is likely to attract a whole new style of trader to the scene. Expect some exciting times ahead.