It is generally observed that cryptocurrency prices tend to rise in the final quarter of the year. This trend has been observed across several years – but most importantly in 2017, when some currencies made profits of thousands of percent. Those who monitor the movement of the currencies and stay updated with the news about them round the year – it becomes possible to estimate which currencies may be the best investment opportunities in late-2018.
Over the past year, cryptocurrency prices have gone through some major ups and downs. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and are generally deemed unpredictable. However, we have studied the price movement and news stories around a number of cryptocurrencies – and here’s a list of cryptocurrencies which are expected to boom later this year.
Cryptocurrencies with a Great Growth Potential for Late-2018:
Bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) is the apex cryptocurrency and the standard by which other currencies are often compared and measured. It is usually considered ‘the gateway cryptocurrency’ as many major cryptocurrency exchanges accept Bitcoin payments for acquiring Altcoins. A boom in the Bitcoin prices is usually followed by a boom in the altcoin prices as Bitcoin is usually the first cryptocurrency to recover during a market recovery.
Considering that a number of institutional investors are being lured into investing in Bitcoins, it is expected that by later this year, Bitcoin prices will be booming once again. Corporate giants and wall street firms such as Intercontinental Exchange and Nasdaq are showing interest in Bitcoins. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and various other banking and finance heavyweights are relaxing their hardline stance on cryptocurrencies – and the biggest beneficiary of this is Bitcoin!
Investment funds specifically aimed at cryptocurrency owners are setting up – where Bitcoin is again the most lucrative and leading offering. Bitcoin-based Exchange Traded Funds are also being demanded by a number of individuals and are soon expected to be approved by the SEC. Bitcoin price prediction for late-2018 indicates that the currency is ready to set new all-time highs!
All of these factors put together account for the fact that a major Bitcoin bull-run is just months away!
Ripple
Ripple (XRP) was the most impressive performer during the cryptocurrency boom of late 2017 and early 2018. The price of the currency surged by over 36,000% at its peak and it attracted a large number of investors. However – Ripple’s core offering is not just its cryptocurrency, but its blockchain-based platform for financial transactions. Ripple is expected to become an even bigger name in late-2018 because of the following reasons:
- Ripple has been working towards a very aggressive growth strategy where it has been tying up with partners based all over the world.
- Ripple is setting up offices in South East Asia, in India, in Europe, in the Middle East, as well as South America.
- The company already has a good grip over the North American and Japanese markets.
With this expansion strategy, Ripple is working towards a global business development drive.
Moreover, banks in several countries, particularly in Japan, have begun to offer services based on the Ripple platform. Ripple’s blockchain network makes transfer of money easy, especially when it comes to international remittances. BankDhofar, the Oman- based bank is the first in its country to partner up with Ripple
In addition to that, money transfer service firms such as MoneyGram and Western Union have also been tying up with Ripple to test various pilot projects.
It is based on this mainstream expansion that we believe that Ripple would indeed perform an encore of its massive growth in 2018.
Ethereum Classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC), which was created after the Ethereum fork of 2015 has been a rather slow-moving and dormant name for the past two years. However, the currency is all set for a major growth in late 2018. This is because of multiple reasons, but the biggest reason for this expected growth is the fact that the number of cryptocurrency exchanges listing ETC are rising.
Ethereum Classic has recently been listed in two major platforms – Coinbase, which is the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in North America, and Robinhood – which is another major international platform for those looking forward to buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies. The addition of Ethereum Classic on Coinbase is a big news because it is only the sixth cryptocurrency that Coinbase has added on their platform.
Coinbase Pro Now Supports Ethereum Classic $ETC via @EtherWorldNews#EthereumClassic #ClassicIsCominghttps://t.co/l5q78zYg5T
— Ethereum Classic (@eth_classic) August 7, 2018
This allows millions of Coinbase users to now easily purchase Ethereum Classic in exchange for fiat currencies, improving the accessibility for the buyers. The inclusion of ETC on Robinhood is also expected to have a similar effect. Interestingly, Ethereum Classic has been taking multiple steps towards ensuring that they become a major name, as they took the decision to set a hard cap of 210 Million currencies late last year. The impact of this will be felt as prices surge following the recent listings.
ETC would be a good investment option and name to keep a close eye on for late 2018.
Verge
One of the most controversial cryptocurrencies of 2017, Verge (XVG) has matured over the course of the year. While the currency was tested against many challenges, including a major market collapse that lasted almost half the year – Verge has shown that it could stay afloat by itself, without the backing of any “influencers”, which has been a major controversy for the company over the past year.
Verge’s privacy focused offering makes it one of the most unique and attractive cryptocurrencies of the year. As demand for privacy focused coins increases, Verge will appear as a major competition to the likes of Monero, which have occupied the position of being a privacy-friendly coin for quite a while now. As of this writing, Verge has slipped down to the 39th position when you look at cryptocurrencies by market capitalization – but it is only a matter of months before the currency would surge back to the top 10.
Another factor that works in the favour of the XVG cryptocurrency is the fact that the team of developers which are working on Verge are very active and take community feedback very seriously. Verge has an active community of users who constantly keep providing feedback to the firm on the kind of improvements that they could make to keep the cryptocurrency relevant, even at a time when the markets are hostile.
Verge’s performance is expected to improve in leaps and bounds over the next few months towards late-2018.
Litecoin
Litecoin is always a ‘safe bet’ when it comes to investing in cryptocurrencies. It is a currency which has been a consistent performer over the years. While it does not stand out from the crowd, it has always been a major player and a prominent name in the list of the top 10 cryptocurrencies. Litecoin, for all practical purposes, is considered as the ‘Digital Silver’ to Bitcoin, which is seen as the ‘Digital Gold’.
Earlier this year, the currency showed a reverse trend. While the markets were heading towards a major ‘bloodbath’ in February, Litecoin’s price continued to surge over speculations of a payments service, as well as a fork that could have led to the creation of Litecoin Cash. While both those plans didn’t go in the direction the Litecoin community would have wanted them to, Litecoin prices have since collapsed.
However, with the markets recovering, Litecoin would be among the first few names to recover because the currency, despite the failure of recent projects based on it, commands respect from the investors. Litecoin adoption is rising too – as a rising number of new services and stores are now accepting the currency than ever before. Moreover, once the crypto markets begin to recover, a part of the investments would go to Litecoin, which has, as mentioned, been a ‘safe bet’ for investors for years.
In Conclusion
While these are the top five names to watch out for, we strongly believe that other names such as Bitcoin Cash, IOTA, Cardano, EOS, NEO and Ethereum too – would be players to watch out for – and names that are going to have a serious impact on the cryptocurrency markets over the months to follow. Expectations indicate that these currencies would contribute in the grand scheme of things – helping the combined cryptocurrency market cap surpass the much-awaited $1 Trillion mark. However, a bigger role would likely be played by the aforementioned five names.
