Crypto has had a very rough time in 2018. After reaching all-time highs between December of last year and February, several major currencies like bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple’s XRP and Litecoin have all experienced significant, ongoing drops that have brought them down to only a fraction of where they were roughly 10 to 12 months ago.
And yet despite all this, not everyone appears to be worried. Changpeng Zhao – the CEO of Binance, one of the largest and most popular overseas digital exchanges – has commented in a recent interview that he sees the future of crypto as one of great prosperity and growth. He has confidence in bitcoin and its altcoins cousins, and knows that once prices settle, things will likely return as they were.
Crypto Is Just Getting Started
Zhao states:
“2018 has been a tough year in terms of pricing for the community, and we see a lot of projects not making it this year, so it’s a correction year, but the technology will stay, and we want to kick off 2019 with a bang, so I think the people in the industry are still very confident about the future. So, there’s no worries about that.”
Aside from the consistent price drops, the industry has also been marred with bad actors and thefts galore. 2018 started out with the largest cryptocurrency hack on record – Coincheck – which resulted in over $500 million in crypto funds disappearing overnight. Based in Japan, Coincheck was the second major exchange in the country to fall victim to a theft of that magnitude, the first being Mt. Gox in 2014.
It has been reported that over $500 million in investor funds were lost to phony or fraudulent initial coin offerings (ICOS) in 2018. The negative hype surrounding crypto’s volatility also struck a nasty chord with internet and social media companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter, all of which eventually sought to ban both crypto and ICO-based advertisements.
Prices Don’t Reflect What’s Happening
Zhao states that bitcoin and crypto prices will always be regular subjects of speculation, though he also stated that while he’s unsure if the bear market is over, he’s certain that in the long run, cryptocurrencies will be sustained by real applications and full-fledged blockchain developers, which he says gives the space its life and energy.
Binance is now planning to launch its own decentralized exchange in the coming months to give its customers more freedom in their trades. Zhao also states that his company is fully open to future legislation granted it is clear and doesn’t stifle innovation or creativity.
Will 2019 be a great year for cryptocurrency? Post your comments below.
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