As the COO of Bitcoin IRA, customers frequently ask me about my price predictions for different digital currencies, especially especially Bitcoin. While it’s impossible to predict with 100% accuracy, I believe the value of a single Bitcoin could easily reach $40,000 before the end of this year. Here are several clear trends that are signaling this massive growth trajectory for 2018.
More Regulated Products Are Coming
Several new fully-regulated investment products launched in 2017, including the highly important Futures markets from CBOE and CME, two of the world’s largest exchange and derivatives marketplaces.
In addition, regulated options trading from LedgerX launched in late 2017, and regulated exchange platform tZero, a subsidiary of Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK), is expected to launch in early 2018. These platforms, as well as the emergence of Futures markets, are providing oversight, reducing risk, and increasing liquidity, drawing more institutional investors to the cryptocurrency space.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has announced they’re launching a trading desk for bitcoin by the end of June 2018 and ETFs and Ethereum Futures may be launching very soon, which will bring tremendous new access and attention to the cryptocurrency space.
Increased Adoption
Since 2014, some notable brand-name businesses such as Overstock.com, Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) accepted bitcoin as a form of payment. Then, in November 2017, Square (NYSE:SQ) Cash officially let users buy and sell Bitcoin, bringing the digital currency directly to the main stage.
In addition, the increase of scaling solutions such as Lightning Networks will make Bitcoin faster and cheaper, thus improving its reputation as an viable payment solution.
Massive Level of Investor Interest
Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund has already purchased millions of dollars in Bitcoin this year, and many experts predict many more institutional investors will jump into the cryptocurrency space in 2018.
This is largely because Bitcoin itself is going mainstream, and it’s also because of the blockchain technology that powers the digital currency.
Cryptocurrencies are leading the charge for a new way of doing business, and, as blockchain technology is increasingly incorporated into everyday transactions, investors will continue to take note.