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Despite the rapid growth of the cryptocurrency space, fiat money is still king in the real world. Even the most enthusiastic crypto-’hodler’ will, when they emerge from their dark caves to get some daylight, eventually have to use government-issued fiat money to pay for everyday goods and services. But much has changed in the world of fiat money. Although they are issued by central banks and declared legal tender by the government, they are not what they used to be. No longer backed by gold, they have little intrinsic value. And with contactless credit and debit cards being the norm, we are increasingly moving towards a cashless society. The next logical step would be to transform the economy from one of fiat currency to one of cryptocurrency. But what would that look like?
More people start using it
Without the people interested in using cryptocurrency, the project will never become a reality. Whilst the interest in cryptocurrency is big enough to hold a Bitcoin rally, it is nowhere near popular enough to be considered a household name. In order for cryptocurrency to become the standard, pretty much everyone would have to know about it and have some experience using it.
Businesses adapt to it
In order for people to use cryptocurrency, more shops and other businesses would need to start accepting it. Although a few businesses and charities have begun accepting cryptocurrency, there is a long way to go before we can use them to buy groceries at the local corner shop. Online stores will probably be the first businesses where it will be a mainstream to pay with Bitcoin. Physical stores will have to catch up so they do not lose out on business.
Governments will (begrudgingly) adapt
The governments will be one of the last local institutions to accept the transformation from fiat to crypto. The main reason for this is that it is in the government’s’ interest to maintain the status quo. Fiat money gives them a lot of control over a country’s economy, and they will be unlikely to relinquish that control easily. China is a great example of how governments are fighting off the crypto-revolution.
National and international spread
Once consumers are using it, businesses are accepting it, and governments are taking steps to implement it, cryptocurrency will be a nationwide legal tender. Once enough countries have reached this stage, an international economy based on cryptocurrency can begin to develop. This is probably not going to happen in the near future, due to the large inequality between the countries around the world.
What can be done to speed up the process?
It will take a lot of patience on the part of crypto-fans, as these things move a lot slower than one could want. The only way to speed up the process of transforming the economy from being based on fiat money to one based on cryptocurrency is (you guessed it) to use cryptocurrency. As much as possible, in as many places as possible. The more people use it, the more businesses will accept it, and the faster governments will have to act on it.
It is never wise to make predictions about the future, particularly not in finance. And when it comes to crypto-finance, it is especially hard to predict what will happen in the future — let alone today. This is not stopping anyone from making predictions, however. Quite a few writers have speculated on what the future of cryptocurrency will look like. Whilst it is impossible to pinpoint exact changes, some trends are more or less certain to continue. More investors will begin to buy into cryptocurrency, security and regulation will improve, and the market will probably remain volatile for the foreseeable future.
More funding from traditional investment sources
As cryptocurrency becomes more mainstream and governments are implementing proper regulations, investors who have been apprehensive will begin to fund blockchain projects. When the space becomes regulated, there will be less anxiety and fear about bad investment decisions. This will open up the doors for the more cautious investors. Because cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have been in circulation for quite a while now, more people are beginning to view it as a serious financial investment. Although Bitcoin has taken a huge hit in terms of value since the crash last year, experts are predicting that it will actually rise higher than the all-time high of $20,000. Some have even speculated that the value of a Bitcoin will reach a quarter million dollars by 2022. There is still a long way to go before everyone is onboard the crypto-train, however.
Security and regulation will improve
One of the biggest concerns cited by apprehensive investors is the lack of security in the cryptocurrency space. A recent survey revealed that almost half of the respondents saw security in cryptocurrency as a big concern. Part of the problem is the lack of regulation of the market. Although more and more countries are slowly implementing proper regulations, the market as a whole remains largely unregulated. Compared to trading with fiat money, the cryptocurrency space is considered to be the Wild West. Hackers and scammers thrive when there is little to no regulation, which is also off-putting for investors. Fortunately, many countries are in talks of rolling out global regulations, which should remedy these concerns. The recent G20 meeting in Argentina saw proposals for cryptocurrency regulations being laid out for the future.
Volatility will continue
One of the main factors that worry investors is the volatility of the cryptocurrency market. Although this can mainly be put down to the temperament of the current traders, security is also a concern.
The recent hacking of Coinrail, and subsequent dip in the value of Bitcoin and Ethereum, is a good example of how a lack of security can impact the market as a whole. But trader temperament and security concerns are far from the only factors that make the market so volatile. The lack of intrinsic value of cryptocurrency is another major reason why the value can rise and fall so much and so fast. Although Stablecoins have physical goods like gold to back them up, these tokens are the exception rather than the rule. This indicates that, unless something changes, cryptocurrencies will continue to be volatile in the near future.
According to an article published on CCN, Fidelity Investment Firms has temporarily halted its intentions to launch cryptocurrency fund after key members and investors decided to leave the company. The Fund was launched in 2017 and its main objective is to come up with a cryptocurrency that will benefit the investors and the firm at large.
It is reported that the firm used the extra funds it had in account to invest in high-risk high return assets and this did not go down well with some of the members. Notably, the decision to invest in the assets was done after an extensive analysis of the financial stability of the firm.
However, a report that was made public in June 9th, 108 has revealed that the small fund set aside for cryptocurrency investment is not operational at the moment after some of the main staff members who were tasked with steering the department left the firm. As a result, plans for Fidelity to launch its own exchange platforms hangs on the balance as there is no clear information on whether the firm still plans to establish the exchange.
Fidelity Lost Cryptocurrency Experts
Interestingly, two former staff members who were part of the management team Nic Carter who worked as a financial analyst and Matt Walsh the ex-Vice President went ahead to establish an independent cryptocurrency fund after leaving Fidelity Investment Firm. The fund is called Castle Island Ventures but it is still not clear if it is operational.
Nonetheless, it is too early to conclude that the firm will not set up the exchange platform owing to the fact that it is ranked among the largest financial service provider of retirement products here in the United States. Launching the exchange platform and making sure it is fully functional would significantly promote its growth and expand its clientele base. Hordes of investors who are currently on the sidelines would take that opportunity to invest in the project thereby increasing its chances of being successful.
Other crypto-talents who left the firm include digital marketing manager Ben Pousty who joined Circle and Kinjal Shah who used to work as a consulting analyst. Shah ditched Fidelity to join Blockchain Capital. At the moment, the firm is desperately looking for a competent fund manager who will oversee the operations at the cryptocurrency department.
Other Financial Service Providers Venturing into Cryptocurrency
Fidelity Investment Firm is not the only company in this niche that is seriously considering venturing into the cryptocurrency industry. Other financial service providers who have shown interest in the industry include New York Stock Exchange and Intercontinental Exchange.
Goldman Sachs have also confirmed that they have completed setting up a bitcoin trading desk for its clients and will be fully operation later this year. Notably, a significant number of financial institutions are still reluctant to invest in digital currencies due to the various risks such as price volatility and lack of proper regulations in most parts of the country.
The ever-volatile market for cryptocurrency has taken another hit after a prominent South Korean cryptocurrency exchange got hacked. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, and EOS are among the many cryptocurrencies that have dropped 10% or more in value as a result of the hack. According to the Wall Street Journal, the person behind the hack got away with cryptocurrency worth $40 million.
As a result of the hack Coinrail has been taken offline. According to Coinrail’s website, the team running the exchange managed to secure 70% of all the cryptocurrency tokens that were stored there. They managed to secure them by using a cold wallet, which is a hard drive not connected to the Internet. In the digital world, hackers are far from uncommon. The remaining 30% of the cryptocurrency tokens have been leaked.
Why is this interesting?
The interesting this about this case is the massive impact it had on the value of cryptocurrencies that were not even affected by the hack. Bitcoin, for example, was not affected by it, and yet the value dropped by a tenth. The only reason why the value of the otherwise unaffected cryptocurrencies has dropped is because investors decided to sell their tokens after hearing about the hack.
The reason why investors have decided to back off of cryptocurrency after the hack remains unclear. Had one of the major cryptocurrency exchanges been hacked, their decision would perhaps have been more obvious. However, Coinrail is not one of the major exchanges. According to the Wall Street Journal, they come in as number 100 on the list of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
Why did the investors back off?
Some have speculated that the reason could be the unpredictable environment in the cryptocurrency space. Because many find the technology is difficult to understand and the governments have yet to solidify their regulations, cryptocurrency traders are looking at any other warning signs to guide their investment decisions.
Many media outlets have attempted to do the calculations on exactly how much this hack has cost the cryptocurrency market. Bloomberg, among others, have come to the conclusion that up to $42 million has been lost as a result of the hack. This is more than what was lost during the hack itself. What this indicates is that investor temperament can be just as, if not more, damaging than a cyber attack.
Maybe it has nothing to do with the hack
Experts, however, are of a different opinion., Some point to the fact that, according to CoinDesk, Bitcoin was already on its way down prior to the hack. After the all-time high of December 2017, Bitcoin has had a hard time recovering its value in 2018. As a matter of fact, the first quarter of 2018 has been the worst yet for Bitcoin.
The same can be said for the other cryptocurrencies that were apparently affected by the hack of Coinrail. Looking at Ethereum and Ripple shows a similar pattern. Ethereum lost almost half of its value by dropping 47.7%, and Ripple lost the majority of its value when it lost 77% of it. This could indicate that the hack was actually not the reason for the drop in cryptocurrency value. Rather, 2018 has just not been a great year for the big cryptocurrencies.