Bitcoin (EXANTE: BTC.EXANTE) has become an accomplished cryptocurrency, but mining is concentrated in the hands of Bitmain and the legendary whales are holding the majority of shares. The number of exchanges, including quite the legal ones that exist under the supervision of regulators of different countries, is growing by leaps and bounds. The blockchain technology can now be found in places where it’s never been before. But the rates have been showing excessive volatility as of late. We hold our breaths and wait for a miracle.
The fact that search queries for cryptocurrencies correlate with the exchange rate is not really news to anyone, as soon as bitcoin starts to reach for the moon, people rush to Google to find an explanation for this. Services that provide wallets, receive thousands of new users, Bitcoin - in the news, gives them something to talk about and discuss. Therefore, we, the people who exist in the media space, become objects of an intense interest as everyone starts asking questions and looking for answers.
However here, it’s impossible to complain about boredom since something happens every day. A certain exchange is broken into, then some crazy person buys a hypercar with crypto, and long-awaited cases against numerous crypto-crooks can now be discussed on the everyday basis. Deceived investors can be found in every country, whose expectations were not justified to such an extent that they are ready to challenge their deceivers in court and pursue them to deliver the promised golden mountains.
But nothing happened and the trip to the moon turned out to be a long one. Most of the numerous blockchains that promised to bury the ethereum remained just as ideas described in the whitepapers, and only a few who managed to overcome this difficult threshold, so far have not launched anything. There were hundreds of them, as well as the numerous cryptocurrencies, which promised super-fast transactions. Many are now being removed from the exchanges. The trading volume of others is not even worth mentioning. In comparison, the comical DOGE is beginning to look like it deserves attention.
While the world's attention was fixed on bitcoin, the altcoins that have resisted, begin to take a shape: here you can include ZCash, Monero, Horizon, which changed the name from ZenCoin. The stock exchanges are actively expanding - in addition to obvious monsters like Binance or Coinbase - in the United States the Gemini Exchange of the Winklevoss brothers stands out among the crowd of newcomers. However, counting exchanges is an ungrateful job, 200 are relatively well-known, another hundred or so for some reason don’t appear in any of the popular ratings, and a similar amount is getting to that level. Market consolidation under the wings of major players - is as distant as the flight to the moon.
If in the case of crypto we are still waiting for the ETF, lack of manipulation in the market and the disappearance of numerous altcoins, in regards to the blockchain, we can already safely say - it has happened. But it didn’t happen as expected. The most well-known integrations and working examples happened on platforms provided by large companies - IBM, Microsoft, Bitfury. A few years ago, it was expected that their place will be occupied by new players who came to the industry out of nowhere, with great ideas and hoping to conquer the world. But no, with rare exceptions - we see old brands that quickly switched into a new market.
The main task for the near future is to endure and overcome. Numerous ICOs, who collected ether when it was at $500 are now panicking. Someone managed to merge the existing balances - but many are holding as their project development is suffering from the lack of funds. The hodlers who bought crypto expecting growth, have not disappeared. Purchased on the highs, and now we all know what they are rolling on. And for many who were impressed by the last year's rally, it was almost their last investment. And there is nothing to advise them - all the forecasts for the rate - are just poking in the dark.
Despite the fact that legislators are rushing in to write the laws - some, at the request of financial institutions, which in turn are forced to cave into interests of large customers that are looking into promising tools, others - to protect numerous investors - the industry is still the ‘wild west’. Technologies are running ahead of the governments, leaving them in perpetual disputes about what digital assets are, what smart contracts are and how to regulate ICOs, which turned out to be beautifully wrapped in nothingness while attracting real money.
"This too shall pass" reads the inscription on the King Solomon’s ring. The only thing that remains is to spend the time to your advantage. Those who are stuck - survive, and for those who did not have time to sink into the world of crypto and blockchain, the current period is a good time to do so. The price for bitcoin seems quite fair and at the bottom according to various forecasts, so, it’s a good time to buy. Are you dreaming of mining, but there is no money for ASIC or are you frightened by the increasing complexity of mining digital diamonds or gold? Dash or any other such altcoin is beginning to look as lucrative as silver. No desire to mine or trade - go study, this year is bursting with offers of blockchain and cryptocurrency courses in different parts of the world, offline, online, for money or for free.
We often ask ourselves: "When?" - in the case of crypto and blockchain, for a long time to come, the answer will be - now. No matter how the market looks, no matter what the decision based on blockchain seemed, it’s worth remembering that we are dealing with a novel technology. We are now holding a Blackberry with buttons in our hands, and iPhone is the moon, but we will definitely get there.
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