The past decade has been full of events for the crypto industry. Unlike the first few years, crypto has grown enough to shed its reputation as a passing wave. With decentralization at its core and blockchain technology in its foundation, crypto promotes financial freedom globally. This is a key reason behind the increased pace of crypto adoption globally. Those who jumped early on the bandwagon, are the happiest now. In the highly volatile market that crypto is, those predicting the highs and lows more accurately make the most of a rally. Speaking of predictions it is a key tool to hype up the market to attract more investors. A lot of crypto predictions have been made over the past few years.
From the ‘future of finance’ to a great alternative to ‘traditional investment’, cryptocurrencies have been called a lot of things. Despite the concerns raised by fundamentalists and some financial institutions, crypto continues to rise steadily in terms of adoption. However, the market volatility is still there. In such a volatile market, predictions by influencers and whales could be one way to get a hold of the market sentiment. For example, when $BTC fell from nearly $64,000 to $30,000 in Aprile, 2021, the decline was predicted by several influencers. At present, BTC is trading at around $39,200.
Over the years, several predictions about crypto, bitcoin, and blockchain have come true. Let’s have a look at some of the top predictions.
- The value of Bitcoin Cash will increase with increasing use cases (Brian Kelly): Brain Kelly, the CEO of BKCM LLC, is one of the leading voices backing the rise of Bitcoin Cash. Bitcoin Cash is essentially a spinoff of Bitcoin, mined using powerful computer hardware. Kelly believes the value of Bitcoin Cash will eventually shoot up with increasing use cases. The price of Bitcoin Cash is holding up pretty well and a rally might just be around the corner.
- Bitcoin Is Better Than FIAT: When Bitcoin was still fighting for a place in the digital economy in 2014, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said “Bitcoin is better than currency in that you don’t have to be physically in the same place.” Fast forward to 2022, Bitcoin has emerged as a force to reckon with in the global digital economy. The list of companies and individuals preferring crypto over FIAT is enormous. True to the prophecy of Gates and many others, leading financial institutions and banks across the globe are adopting crypto.
- Ethereum Can Outperform Bitcoin: Ethereum has been hyped a lot by maximalists and investors since the early days. Ethereum was pitched as a competitor to Bitcoin, the largest crypto by market volume. Quite unsurprisingly, Ethereum gained over 530% in 2021, outperforming Bitcoin in terms of returns on investment. As of December 2021, the performance gap between the two leading cryptocurrencies is more than 400 percentage points.
- The Rise Of Blockchain Businesses: Blockchain, the technology powering Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, has been a driving force behind the crypto boom. The distributed ledger technology (DLT) used by blockchain is what makes it so unique. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt predicted that a lot of people will build businesses on blockchain technology. “The ability to create something which is not duplicable in the digital world has enormous value,” Eric said. Fast forward to 2021, and the growth of blockchain technology is unstoppable. In the first quarter of 2021 alone, blockchain startups globally attracted $2 billion in VC funding. More than 65 big industries have either adopted blockchain technology or are set to do so.
- Cryptocurrency To Outperform Gold: Galaxy Digital Holdings CEO Mike Novogratz hailed Bitcoin as a digital gold in 2018. Many other influencers compared cryptocurrencies with gold. Just two years after Mike’s praise for Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market volume outperformed gold in 2020. The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index of digital coins has surged by 65% against the 20% rally in returns from global stocks, bonds, and gold commodities.
What Lies Ahead?
The crypto industry is well poised to lead a digital revolution powered by increasing investments and institutional adoptions. From new industries like DeFi (decentralized finance), Metaverse, and NFT spurting out of the blockchain industry, the platform is set for groundbreaking innovations across industries. From institutional investors to governments, everyone is jumping on the crypto bandwagon to make the most of the digital boom. Predictions by industry leaders are often based on the study of market trends and use cases of the technology. Going forward, we may see many prophecies coming true. It is vital for investors to stay ahead of the trends to make the most out of a rally. Educating yourself is vital to long term success and being aware of the crypto predictions is a part of the education.