Following the wild end of 2017, it was always difficult to know what to expect from cryptocurrency markets this year. On the one hand, several of the leading cryptocurrencies had shown their legitimacy by rising far beyond what anyone had predicted. On the other, they also crashed. Bitcoin’s decline after reaching all-time highs has been chalked up to a Q4 futures launch, and at least to some extent we can attribute movements in other cryptocurrencies in 2017 to those of bitcoin. But the cumulative effect was that everything felt unpredictable.
That’s more or less how things have stayed in 2017 so far. Despite predictions pointing every which way, the crypto markets have been up and down, never threatening to surge as they did last November, but never totally bottoming out either. But because these currencies are increasingly viewed as investment assets and can even be considered, let’s say, forex-adjacent, we’re taking a look at some of the updated outlooks for major cryptocurrencies this year.
Bitcoin – For most of 2018 so far, bitcoin has been hovering in the $8,000 to $10,000 range. It’s become slightly less volatile than it was in 2017, but that hasn’t stopped people from making wild predictions about its future. Some still speculate as to whether it could hit $100,000 this year. Others see the bubble having burst already and believe it’s in the midst of a long, slow demise. Altogether, the outlook is unchanged, which is to say predictions are all over the place, and depend on too many factors for anyone to make a truly precise estimation.
Litecoin – Litecoin moves, not in lockstep but in similar general patterns to bitcoin. This used to be true of most cryptocurrencies, though some are branching out a little bit more. For now though, you can apply the bitcoin forecast to litecoin on a smaller scale.
Ether – Ether has always been a little bit different. The concise definition given by one site is that ethereum’s blockchain focuses on running program code, such that it can be used for a huge variety of purposes. The different applications programmed into this blockchain are fueled by ether, which means the currency should grow in value as ethereum is more widely used. This has led some to believe that ether ultimately has more long-term potential than bitcoin, and could be the most promising cryptocurrency by year’s end. Early on however it’s been somewhat middling, like its peers.
Dash – Like ethereum, dash is one cryptocurrency with legitimate hopes of replacing bitcoin as the standard bearer for the technology. With lower fees, a voting system meant to preempt the “forks” that frequently complicate bitcoin, and a certain new feel to it, dash is in some respects just a more modern, less stressful bitcoin. There are no guarantees, but there’s some thinking that as more people catch on dash will become more popular, and more valuable.
Ripple – Ripple is a much smaller scale currency for the time being (worth less than $1), but many have tabbed it as the next one likely to take off. Early on in 2018 expectations are being tempered however, as something is not right with the ripple market. It’s a somewhat sudden shift, but the outlook for ripple (or XRP as its currency is denoted) is taking a turn toward the negative.
