What's in store for crypto and digital currencies? Finder surveyed 28 fintech leaders to find out.
2020 was been the perfect storm for cryptocurrency. Large amounts of government stimulus, unprecedented action from central banks around the world and decentralized finance (DeFi) have made digital currencies the year’s best performing asset. So what’s the deal with DeFi? And is Bitcoin still king? We asked 30 panelists for their expert opinions.
Disclaimer: This information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of cryptocurrency or any specific
provider, service or offering. It is not a recommendation to trade.
Meet our panel
Panellists
Panellists
Panellists
Michael Conn, chief executive officer, Zilliqa Capital
Ajay Strestha, PhD candidate, University of Saskatchewan
Gavin Brown, the University of Liverpool
Sarah Bergstrand, chief operating officer, BitBull Capital
Adel de Meyer, co-founder and leader, DAPS Coin
Joel Kruger, currency strategist, LMAX Group
Desmond Marshall, MD, Rouge International and Rouge Ventures
Vetle Lunde, analyst, Arcane Research
Vishal Shah, chief executive officer, Alpha5
Tyler Smith, sales manager, BC Bitcoin
David Klinger, co-founder, SpringCapital Investments
Aleksandar Kuzmanovic, professor at Northwestern University, and founder at bloXroute Labs
Gavin Smith, managing partner, Panxora DeFi Hedge Fund
Fred Schebesta, co-founder, Finder and HiveEx
Edward Hickman, chief executive officer and founder, Anatha.io
Lennard Neo, head of research, Stack Funds
Joseph Raczynski, technologist and futurist, Thomson Reuters
Andrew Urquhart, associate professor of finance, ICMA Centre, Henley Business School, University of Reading
James Putra, head of product, TradeStation Crypto
David Derhy, cryptocurrency commentator, eToro
Sagi Bakshi, chief executive officer, coinmama
John Hawkins, senior lecturer, the University of Canberra
Paul Levy, the University of Brighton
Bilal Hammoud, chief executive officer, NDAX Inc
Jason Lau, chief operating officer, OKCoin
Jeremy Cheah, associate professor of cryptofinance and digital investment, Nottingham Trent University
Craig Cobb, managing director and founder, TraderCobb.com
Bitcoin price prediction
Bitcoin is set to hit US$14,283 by the end of the year, according to the panel average – a 10% increase from the panel’s end-of-year forecast in July ($12,948). Of 11 coins included in the study, Finder’s panel is most positive on the outlook for Bitcoin.
James Putra, head of product at TradeStation Crypto, is the most bullish on Bitcoin (BTC) with an end-of-year forecast of $60,000. He claims that the price of BTC will skyrocket as it becomes easier for retail investors to trade as more brokerages service the cryptocurrency market.
LMAX Group Currency Strategist Joel Kruger gives the second-highest price prediction of $20,000. However, according to Kruger it won’t be a smooth run.
“We think the price could initially be vulnerable to a downturn in global sentiment, much like was seen in March, before ultimately being well supported on the longer-term value proposition as a highly attractive store of value asset.”
TraderCobb.com Managing Director Craig Cobb expects the price of Bitcoin to hit $18,000 by December 31st given strong momentum.
” … there has never been more corporate interest and positivity around Bitcoin since I have been in,” he says.
Andrew Ballinger, financial associate at Wave, gives a forecast of $14,000, arguing increased quantitative easing will “top up retail investors.”
“With continued uncertainty surrounding the economic recovery, investors may turn to digital currencies over equities, and test the ‘digital gold’ thesis of Bitcoin further,” he says.
Meanwhile Gavin Smith, managing partner at hedge fund Panxora DeFi; Desmond Marshall, managing director at Rouge International; Vishal Shah, CEO at Alpha5; Adel de Meyer, DAPS coin cofounder; and John Hawkins, senior lecturer at the University of Canberra all predicted end-of-year prices at below $10,000.
Shah says BTC is not outperforming to the same levels as other assets and is actually materially underperforming.
“It’s in the same box as DXY when it comes to the confusions created by easy-money policies and its effect(s) on assets. In this instance, anyone that is still trumpeting this macro thesis should be worried, as it’s not playing out.”
Over the next five years, the panel predicts the price of Bitcoin will skyrocket to $148,025 on average — a whopping 3,233% increase from the 2020 end-of-year prediction. However if we remove the most bullish prediction of $2 million, the average price prediction settles to $67,504. Including all predictions, the median 2025 prediction is $37,500.
NDAX Inc. CEO Bilal Hammoud, who predicted a 2025 end-of-year Bitcoin price close to the average at $150,000, chalks it up to major institutions shifting their attitudes.
“Major countries, banks and corporations are starting to invest heavily into Bitcoin as a safe haven and store of value. This trend will only accelerate in the next couple years as we approach the next halving. With only 3M liquid Bitcoins, demand will continue to outperform supply and price will adjust accordingly,”
Arcane Research analyst Vetle Lunde thinks BTC will hit $100,000 by 2025, thanks to intense fiscal stimulus:
“This could have dramatic monetary implications in the long run. This has attracted several well-renowned investors to invest in Bitcoin as an inflation hedge. With its known low, fixed inflation rate, Bitcoin provides scarcity in a world filled with abundance,” he said.
Associate professor at Nottingham Trent University Jeremy Cheah and Thomson Reuters Technologist Joseph Raczynski think Bitcoin will increase in value significantly, but not to the extent that panelists like Lunde and Hammoud are predicting.
Cheah thinks Bitcoin will be worth around $18,000 by the end of 2025, and Raczynski expects BTC to hit $35,000. Both panelists say the trend toward electronic payments is set to support growth.
” … as the world moves to digital currency, though not the best system, BTC will likely still prove as the original — a very good store of value. First movers often have significant sway. This is likely one of them that’s able to keep its position and prominence,” says Raczynski.
David Klinger, cofounder of Springcapital Investments, and University of Brighton’s Paul Levy think the price of Bitcoin is set to increase by 2025, but not exponentially, with both panelists providing a forecast of $15,000.
“Bitcoin may well be the choice during troubled times, but it has yet to prove itself is a dependable investment for many people. Bitcoin is going to go up but not exponentially,” Levy says.
Meanwhile MarketOrders COO Sukhi Jutla, Desmond Marshall and Adel de Meyer aren’t expecting Bitcoin prices to move significantly over the next five years, with each providing a forecast within a range of $9,000 to $13,000.
Jutla thinks Bitcoin is relatively stable for a cryptocurrency and will continue to be used. Marshall agrees and expects more widespread adoption but says this could be a double-edged sword.
“More structured products endorsements from government, banks or financial institutions will help push market adoption, but more forces will try to control it, meaning it will still be difficult to boost exponentially,” he says.
Dr. John Hawkins gives the most bearish 2025 forecast — just $100. He says Bitcoin will eventually be worthless, but he’s not sure when that will happen.
Buy, sell or hold Bitcoin?
When asked if now is the time to buy, sell or hold Bitcoin, the majority of panelists (54%) say it’s time to buy. Some 39% say it’s best to hold, while just 7% say it’s time to sell.
David Klinger, Joseph Raczynski and Andrew Urquhart, an associate professor at the University of Reading, think now is the time to buy Bitcoin as a hedge against economic instability.
“Hodling has been the rule. However, that order has changed. Buying appears to be a clear option as a hedge against the global economy. With more traditional bankers and financial companies buying it, it seems logical,” says Raczynski.
Lunde also says now is the time to buy, but notes timing the market is difficult and thinks the dollar-cost average is the best way to avoid short-term bias.
“By adding to your Bitcoin position monthly, you have a viable strategy to secure a significant Bitcoin exposure while being less sensitive to short-term price fluctuations,” he says.
Meanwhile 39% of the panel, including eToro crypto commentator David Derhy, say it’s best to hold.
Derhy expects to see another bull run:
“Bitcoin is currently trading around the important support level of $10K. While Bitcoin maintains this level, investors should consider holding, as we’re still early in this technology and adoption is growing. I’d expect to see another bull run on crypto prices”.
However Adel de Meyer thinks holding Bitcoin is risky. She and Dr. John Hawkins were the only two panelists who say now is the time to sell.
“Right now I think Bitcoin might see a big drop again in value due to the global economic uncertainty and jobless rates around the globe. Keeping Bitcoin right now is a high risk,” de Meyer says.
Ethereum price forecast
Panelists predict the price of Ethereum to reach $513 on average by the end of the year. That’s a 54% increase from last quarter’s end-of-year prediction of $333.
Several panelists, including BC Bitcoin sales manager Tyler Smith, think traction from use case projects will contribute to higher prices.
“Ethereum has consistently delivered a stable and scalable blockchain solution, with many other projects making use of its infrastructure. This trend will likely continue, making it a good investment opportunity for the future,”
Zilliqa Capital CEO Michael Conn agrees that projects making use of Ethereum’s infrastructure will drive the market higher and calls out DeFi specifically, while BitBull Capital COO, Sarah Bergstrand, thinks Ethereum should see more appreciation after the launch of ETH 2.0.
However, de Meyer and Shah think Ethereum could see a drop in value by the end of this year, predicting $250 and $260, respectively.
“There is too much global economic uncertainty, and traders are now all moving to DeFi trading, losing interest in main coins like ETH and BTC,” says de Meyer.
Panelists predict the price of Ethereum will reach $2,075 on average in five years’ time.
OKCoin COO Jason Lau gives a forecast on par with the panel average at $2,000. He says the growing strength of the Ethereum community will support momentum.
“Ethereum has by far the strongest developer community and most applications deployed. If ETH scaling solutions are successful, its brand power and track record, and ultimately demand, will only grow”.
Bergstrand and Putra give the most bullish price prediction of $10,000, with Bergstrand suggesting ETH could become an indispensable cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile Hawkins, Shah and de Meyer think Ethereum will actually lose value over the next five years, each providing a forecast below $300.
Buy, sell or hold Ethereum?
Almost half the panel (48%) say now is the time to buy Ethereum, while 42% say it is best to hold. Just 10% say now is the time to sell.
Anatha.io CEO and Founder, Edward Hickman, Bergstrand and University of Liverpool Professor Gavin Brown say the DeFi boom presents an opportunity to buy more Ethereum.
“ETH is still leading the DeFi movement, and added interoperability could make the Ethererum network the centerpiece of the whole market,” says Hickman.
Derhy and Hammoud suggest now is a great time to buy, given ETH 2.0 is under way.
“Ethereum 2.0 is due to go live before the end of the year. With the improvement of the protocol coming and the minimum stake needed (32 ETH) to operate a validator node, Ethereum may see another bull run,” says Derhy.
Finder and HiveEx Cofounder Fred Schebesta says it’s best to hold for now, given it’s impossible to predict how long the strong performance will last.
“Like Bitcoin, Ethereum could well see its market reflect equities. Despite being strong now, there is the question of how long that will last. Those holding ETH will rest well in accumulating more if we do go lower, but it’s never easy to sleep when you don’t hold an asset that’s changing the world month on month, whether reflected in price or not”.
Cobb agrees it’s best to hold, noting a lot depends on the success of ETH 2.0.
However Hawkins, Shah and de Meyer think now is the time to sell. Hawkins says Ethereum has no underlying value, while de Meyer thinks that DeFi’s high fees are putting users off.
Shah acknowledges the increasing demand of Ethereum brought by DeFi, but notes the importance of distinguishing the coin’s performance from its actual value:
“Remember, ETH is a conduit. Nobody is buying ETH because of their belief in the superiority of the protocol. To the contrary, you are seeing competing protocols looking to eclipse ETH before it gets to 2.0, a multiyear process.
It’s enjoying a sticky first-mover advantage, but now has a negligible moat over competition, making it highly susceptible the moment critical mass begins to shift away from it. DeFi has been a blessing, but it’s important not to conflate ETH performance with intrinsic value,” he says.
The outlook on DeFi
Many of our panelists note DeFi will play a pivotal role in the success (or failure) of Ethereum, and so we asked about their outlook on DeFi for the year ahead. The majority of panelists (64%) expect DeFi applications to steadily grow in both value locked and user count over the next 12 months.
Hickman is part of that majority and says he is single-handedly onboarding thousands into the DeFi movement through its own efforts at Anatha.
“Taken as a whole, the industry is just too on fire for decentralized finance to let go of it anytime soon. Expect decentralized versions of everything that’s ever been made in the legacy financial system, and a whole new series of tools and functions that the legacy financial system simply isn’t capable of producing.”
Gavin Smith thinks DeFi is at the start of a multiyear bull run.
“The protocols are still in their infancy and have huge potential moving forward,” he says.
Lau agrees DeFi will continue to grow, but notes there will be bumps along the way.
“While the longer-term outlook for DeFi is positive, there will be many bumps in the road. However, with banks and other traditional saving vehicles offering near-zero yields, protocols that deliver sustainable returns on staked assets will draw attention from investors,” he says.
However, four panelists (13%), including CoinMama CEO Sagi Bakshi, do not expect DeFi to grow over the next year. Bakshi thinks DeFi is growing too fast in an irresponsible and unregulated manner.
“It will implode with a huge loss of users’ funds, something like Mt. Gox,” he says.
Bergstrand and Kruger are part of the remaining 23% who are unsure, both warning they’re concerned about a potential bubble.
“There is a lot of potential in the world of DeFi, and the progress has been astounding thus far. While we believe the growth is there over the coming years, we’re concerned about the potential for a bubble burst that compromises growth prospects over the next 12 months, with things having run so far and fast,” says Kruger.
While the majority of panelists expect DeFi to grow over the next year, they also all concede there are barriers to growth.
Some 73% say scams, excessive hype and market manipulation will challenge DeFi growth. Half say general cryptocurrency frictions — such as private key management and price volatility — will make it harder for DeFi to grow, while 43% say a lack of public awareness is a major obstacle. Just over a quarter of panelists (27%) say DeFi has a lack of genuine value and real-world applications, which will make it harder for further adoption.
Dr. Iwa Salami from the University of East London is part of the majority forecasting continued growth, but notes some factors will make it harder for DeFi to grow.
” … DeFi also raises governance, legal and operational risks issues. As in typically decentralized permissionless platforms, it is difficult to hold any particular person or entity accountable for any technological failure that may result in the collapse of the system.
It may also be challenging allocating liability in transactions involving anonymous parties in smart contracts — especially when used to disguise fraudulent activities.”
Raczynski also thinks DeFi will continue to grow but says awareness is a barrier.
“The vast majority of people barely even know merely the name of Bitcoin, much less Ethereum, and far less DeFi. It’s a subset of a subset of a micro movement. When sovereign nations create their ‘digital dollar’ and the need for digital wallets, which will require education on a massive scale, then critical mass will hit,” he says.
High returns on yield farming
DeFi is currently characterized by enormous but temporary “yield farming” returns. Recent reports suggest even “safe” farming options commonly earn returns equivalent to 100% a year or more. When asked how much longer these high returns can last, 44% expect them to drop off in the next six months, with 7% of those saying it could happen any day now. Just 13% say high returns will last longer than six months. Meanwhile, 37% say it’s impossible to predict.
Putra thinks the high returns will last less than six months and warns a liquidity crunch is coming.
“There are a lot of people unfamiliar with margin currently using leverage to drive up returns. Most of the projects are barely tested before being released into the wild. Watch for market structure events that will trigger a fast liquidation of open positions. People are not sure exactly what they own”.
Gavin Smith also thinks the returns will last less than six months.
“The reason for the high returns is the underlying risk of a collateralized loan pyramid. As the products become more established, the risks will fall along with the returns,” he says.
Edward Hickman and professor at Northwestern and founder of bloXroute Labs Aleksandar Kuzmanovic are part of the minority who say high returns will last longer than six months.
Future of DeFi activities
DeFi activities currently take place on the Ethereum blockchain. However, there are growing alternatives in a move toward blockchain interoperability. So where is the future of DeFi headed? We asked the panel what they expect the landscape to look like 12 months from now.
Some 43% say there will be less than five popular and widely used DeFi ecosystems, while 21% expect to see the inverse, where there are multiple separate popular and widely used DeFi ecosystems.
Derhy thinks there will be a few separate DeFi ecosystems, but only a few will be used regularly by the masses.
“In my opinion, like in any other industry, only some products will be used by millions of users on a daily basis. We may see growing adoption in some products such as Compound or Uniswap in the future, but only few apps will succeed,” he says.
Cheah shares a similar sentiment, noting some leaders will rise to the top.
“There will be many DeFi ecosystems, but there will be leaders because of the issue with trust and ease of use. Majority of users are followers of [the] herd. For example, some major cryptocurrencies will lead, so there will be a number of separate but popular and widely used DeFi ecosystems. No one will be able to learn all the different types of ecosystems — information overload.”
Meanwhile, under a third of panelists (29%) think Ethereum will continue to dominate the ecosystem, and just one panelist, Sukhi Jutla, thinks the Bitcoin blockchain will dominate.
Gavin Brown thinks Ethereum will dominate and says the rise of alternatives is part of a phase.
“Historical technology innovations are littered with examples of a shakeout phase and ultimate coalescence around a dominant technology protocol. Interoperability relies on such a dominance of one — Ethereum — or a limited few such rival blockchain platforms,” he says.
Lunde agrees Ethereum will dominate the landscape, highlighting the first mover advantage.
” … despite the high transaction fees and the uncertainty involved with the ETH 2.0 transition, the most likely scenario is that Ethereum holds its dominance. Yet protocols such as Polkadot and Solana could also experience more growth, and their interoperability could also be beneficiary for Ethereum,” he says.
On a different note, Urquhart thinks a blockchain other than Bitcoin and Ethereum will surface as the main platform.
Who’s farming and who isn’t (yet)?
With all this talk of DeFi and yield farming, we asked the experts if they’ve dabbled in it themselves, revealing half the panel have participated in yield farming to some extent. Around one in five panelists (18%) is an enthusiastic farmer, while a quarter say they’ve experimented but nothing more. The remainder of the panel (7%) say they have only a little bit. The other half haven’t touched it and the majority of non-farmers plan to stay that way, while a small number (14%) are planning to give it a go.
Cryptocurrency sentiment
Finder’s panel is most positive on the outlook for Bitcoin (73%), followed by Etherum (67%).
Hammoud says Bitcoin has proven to be the safest form of digital money to trade and hold due to the unique characteristics of scarcity and network security.
” … adoption coins like Litecoin [and] Bitcoin Cash will have a very hard time competing. Ethereum has proven to be the best platform for blockchain innovation due to the ease of use and the large community backing. It will be difficult for other blockchains to compete without major breakthroughs.”
Dehry shares a similar sentiment, arguing cryptocurrency adoption is growing and regulation is becoming clearer.
” … But while some crypto assets such as Ethereum or Binance Coin have shown real ambitions in becoming an important actor in DeFi and in creating the future of finance, some others such as Litecoin have lost interest from retail investors.”
The panel is most negative on Bitcoin Cash (55%), Litecoin (48%) and XRP (39%).
Raczynski predicts some coins will see their values increase sharply while others plummet.
“I firmly believe the crypto winter is over. And though spiking in both directions will persist, the trend for the marketplace is higher. The momentum is moving, and the crazy DeFi projects that will crash hard will be very cool experiments, with some turning into real financial products,” he says.
Finder surveyed 30 fintech leaders online in September 2020. Panellists may own cryptocurrencies.
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrencies are speculative, complex and involve significant risks – they are highly
volatile and sensitive to secondary activity. Performance is unpredictable and past performance is no guarantee of
future performance. Consider your own circumstances, and obtain your own advice, before relying on this information.
You should also verify the nature of any product or service (including its legal status and relevant regulatory
requirements) and consult the relevant Regulators' websites before making any decision. Finder, or the author, may
have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.
What’s in store for crypto and digital currencies? Finder surveyed 28 fintech leaders to find out.
Disclaimer:
This information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of cryptocurrency or any specific provider,
service or offering. It is not a recommendation to trade. Cryptocurrencies are speculative, complex and
involve significant risks – they are highly volatile and sensitive to secondary activity. Performance
is unpredictable and past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Consider your own
circumstances, and obtain your own advice, before relying on this information. You should also verify
the nature of any product or service (including its legal status and relevant regulatory requirements)
and consult the relevant Regulators' websites before making any decision. Finder, or the author, may
have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.
Who are our panellists?
Our panellists
Jimmy Song, Author of ‘Programming Bitcoin’ and ‘The Little Bitcoin Book’
Ben Ritchie, Managing Director, Digital Capital Management
David Wills, CEO, Kenetic Trading
Sagi Bakshi, CEO, Coinmama
Jacky Purdy, Research Analyst, Messari
Dr Iwa Salami, University of East London
Dr John Hawkins, University of Canberra
Ajay Shrestha, PhD Candidate, University of Saskatchewan
Raphael Tressieres, Business & Client Strategy, First Digital Trust
Alex Mashinsky, CEO, Celsius Network
Josh Fraser, co-founder, Origin Protocol
Desmond Marshall, MD, Rouge International & Rouge Ventures
Joseph Raczynski, Technologist & Futurist, Thomson Reuters
Sukhi Jutla, COO & co-founder, MarketOrders
Nicolas Van Hoorde, CEO, Delta (part of eToro)
Jonathan Leong, CEO, BTSE
Craig Cobb, Founder and Head Trader, www.tradercobb.com
Michael Conn, CEO, Zilliqa Capital
Robert Johnson, Professor, Heider College of Business, Creighton University
Tyler Smith, Sales Manager, BC Bitcoin
Fred Schebesta, co-founder, Finder.com
Gavin Smith, General Partner, Panxora Crypto I Hedge Fund
Zac Prince, CEO, BlockFi
Lee Smales, Associate Professor, University of Western Australia
Jason Lau, COO, OKCoin
Paul Levy, University of Brighton
Elvira Sojli, Associate Professor, University of New South Wales
Lex Sokolin, ConsenSys
Bitcoin prices post-halving
On 11 May 2020, Bitcoin enacted its third block halving, cutting the reward for miners in half. Many speculated on how the halving event would affect the price of Bitcoin. Now that we’re in a post-halving world, Bitcoin prices are what many analysts expected, according to 61% of panellists on Finder’s cryptocurrency predictions report.
Just 18% thought they’d be lower, while 21% of panellists thought Bitcoin prices would be higher. However, 61% think they’ll increase in the long term due to the halving, with many panellists attributing any projected increase to the economics of supply and demand.
Programming Bitcoin author Jimmy Song thinks prices will increase in the long term:
“Lower supply means higher prices. It takes some time for supply restrictions to make their way through the economy, and given the fiscal downturn and the flight to liquidity, it may take longer for the supply shock to result in higher BTC prices.”
Other panellists note the current economic environment means demand will continue to increase as investors look to hedge against inflation and quantitative easing from central banks.
University of East London’s Iwa Salami says that “high net worth investors are potentially looking at Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation. … This is likely to drive Bitcoin prices up, but not to the extent seen in December 2017.”
However, Jack Purdy, research analyst at Messari, warns to temper expectations, noting Bitcoin’s value as a terminally fixed supply asset.
“No matter how much demand for Bitcoin increases or decreases, miners cannot adjust Bitcoin’s supply from its predetermined amount,” Purdy says. “In the months following Bitcoin’s last halving, Bitcoin’s price actually decreased, and it was only many months later that Bitcoin would begin rallying as the great 2017 ICO boom kicked off. There are plenty of reasons to be bullish on Bitcoin, but I wouldn’t bank on the halving being the one.”
Nearly a third of respondents (28%) agree with Purdy, saying they don’t think the halving will cause prices to increase long term. Meanwhile, 11% said they aren’t sure either way.
Paul Levy from the University of Brighton says the current economic instability leaves him unsure if they’ll increase over time.
“Given the current volatility, arising from coronavirus, Bitcoin could be a more stable investment opportunity. On the other hand, if the recession is strong, there may be opportunities arising from that,” he says.
Both Lex Sokolin at ConsenSys and Dr John Hawkins at the University of Canberra say the halving should already be fully priced in as the schedule has been known for some time.
Meanwhile, Joe Raczynski thinks the price will increase due to supply and demand but expects a drop in prices.
“Looking at the previous halving charts, Bitcoin tends to rise in the subsequent months. There is usually a bit of a rise before, then a drop. It’s almost like earning reports for publicly traded companies,” says Raczynski. “Buy on the rumour, sell on the news. My thoughts are that in the coming months, BTC will rise because of relative scarcity.”
Bitcoin price forecast
So what’s in store for Bitcoin for the rest of 2020? Over the next 3 months, the panel predicts that the price of Bitcoin will be $10,337 by 30 September 2020 (All figures in this article are in US dollars). Prices are set to rise again by year’s end, with the panel expecting prices to reach $12,948 by 31 December 2020. That’s roughly $2,500 less than the price predicted in Finder’s quarterly report published in April.
Origin Protocol co-founder Josh Fraser is the most bullish on Bitcoin, predicting an end-of-year price of $30,000. “Historically, it’s taken some time after the Bitcoin halving for the price impact to follow,” he says.
BlockFi CEO Zac Prince, Finder co-founder Fred Schebesta, Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky and OKCoin COO Jason Lau all gave above-average predictions for Bitcoin ranging from $15,000 to $25,000 by 31 December.
Prince comments, “Adoption trends across retail and institutional markets against a macroeconomic backdrop that is bullish for stores of value.”
While Maskinsky says, “Larger platforms are about to offer easy access to Bitcoin for the first time. This will drive up demand and adoption.”
Song, Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia Lee Smales, Managing Director of Rouge International and Rouge Ventures Desmond Marshall and Associate professor at the University of New South Wales Elvira Sojli predict end-of-year prices below $10,000.
Song predicts BTC will be worth $9,548 on both 30 September and 31 December, adding, “There won’t be as much money going into BTC while people try to survive. Until the prices rise in the grocery store, BTC won’t really start taking off. I suspect that’ll take another nine months or so.”
Sojli thinks BTC will be $9,500 on both 30 September and 31 December 2020. Considering COVID-19’s economic impact, she sees no reason for prices to appreciate.
“If anything, the second or third wave of COVID-19 may drive its price down,” Sojli says.
Buy, sell or hodl?
These uncertain times have left global economies and markets in a state of shock, with many people unsure of what to do with their assets – including Bitcoin. We asked the panel if they think now is a good time to buy, sell or hold Bitcoin. The responses are mixed.
Half our panel (50%) thinks now is the time to buy, with a little under a third of panellists (32%) suggesting to hold and just 18% saying it’s time to sell.
Kinetic Trading CEO David Wills and Coinmama CEO Sagi Baksi both think now is the time to buy.
“I am a big follower of PlanB stock to flow analysis. This combined with the debasement of fiat currency in the wake of COVID-19 is the perfect set-up for a bull run in the second half of the year,” Wills says.
While Bashi notes a few different factors at play. “S2F model, financial instability, Fed printing money, infrastructure being built, millennials trust bitcoin more than banks etc,” he comments.
Panellists who say now’s the time to hold include Paul Levy and Delta CEO Nicolas Van Hoorde.
“In uncertain economic times, having a stable value is more valuable over time than having a short-lived peak,” Van Hoorde comments.
Gavin Smith, general partner at Panxora, thinks now is the time to sell, predicting a more modest end-of-year Bitcoin price of $7,000. He notes the economy has both positive and negative implications on the coin.
“On the positive side, there is a long-term inflation outlook caused by the global increase of liquidity provided by central banks. On the negative side, the global economy has been hit by a significant negative demand shock caused by COVID,” Smith explains. “Our view is that there will be a short-term significant decline in the value of Bitcoin as the deflationary demand shock filters through. However, looking out 18 months, we believe this will be replaced by a strong rally as the inflationary ramifications of central bank actions start to take hold.”
Legitimacy of cryptocurrencies as an asset class
In a recent investor call, Goldman Sachs said that cryptocurrencies are not an asset class, an assessment which an overwhelming 82% of panellists disagree with. The remaining panellists are split with 14% agreeing with the Goldman Sachs assertion and 4% unsure on where they stand.
However, panellists are optimistic about how financial institutions perceive cryptocurrency. In fact, the majority (79%) believe institutional investors perceive cryptocurrency as more legitimate now than a year ago.
Gavin Smith, ConsenSys CMO Lex Sokolin and Zilliqa Capital CEO Michael Conn cite the year-on-year increase in institutional holdings of cryptocurrency assets as an indication of its improving image.
“If you look at the Fidelity Digital Asset research, institutional holdings of crypto [have] increased to double digits. Millennials also continue to have increasing trust in Bitcoin and are coming into positions of power globally,” Sokolin comments.
Jack Purdy and Jimmy Song say mainstream personalities like Paul Tudor Jones have made it more acceptable for fund managers to invest in Bitcoin.
“With every year that passes, Bitcoin will continue to be perceived as more legitimate by institutions as they see the amount of talent and money flowing into the ecosystem,” says Purdy. “The thesis behind it is also becoming much more clear as investors are able to rally around what Paul Tudor Jones calls ‘the Great Monetary Inflation’ and see how Bitcoin can provide a hedge against that.”
Managing Director of Digital Capital Management Ben Ritchie thinks quantitative easing during COVID-19 has increased concern around global monetary supply.
“This concern has sparked a renewed interest in the mathematical assurances that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies offer,” he added.
However, 21% of panellists don’t believe financial institutions’ perceptions of cryptocurrency has improved.
Dr John Hawkins from the University of Canberra says, “There is no sign that they are being used in transactions to any greater extent than last year.”
Despite acknowledging this lack of improvement, Ajay Shrestha, a PhD candidate at the University of Saskatchewan, remains optimistic.
“Many of those financial institutions are now seeking public input on regulating digital banking activities with blockchain tools and cryptocurrencies,” Shrestha explains. “This is an indication that those institutions are perceiving cryptocurrencies as more legitimate now than at this time last year.”
Ethereum price forecast
Ethereum was priced at $231.11 at close of trade on 1 July 2020. On average, panellists expect Ethereum to increase 11% to $256.84 by the end of September and by 44% to $332.58 by 31 December 2020.
Raczynski gives the highest forecast for Ethereum over the next 3 months at $320, and Fraser gives the highest forecast for the next 6 months at $1,000 by year’s end.
Jimmy Song offers the lowest forecast for both 30 September and 31 December at $150 and $97, respectively.
“Proof of stake is not secure. It will essentially centralise ETH in some serious ways,” Song says.
Just under a quarter of panellists (23%) say they have concerns about the economics of Ethereum as it moves to proof of stake in Ethereum 2.0.
Fraser thinks it’s a difficult task but necessary as the platform continues to grow.
“Moving to proof of stake is proving to be incredibly hard for the Ethereum team to pull off,” Fraser says. “There have been a lot of delays and it’s an inherently difficult problem. However, the move is desperately needed as usage on the Ethereum platform continues to grow with the record levels of usage of both USDT and DeFi platforms.”
However, 38.5% of panellists didn’t raise the same concerns, noting the changes are necessary and would happen gradually.
“There’s significant opportunity here for the organisation and for DeFi,” offers Raczynski. “If Ethereum is able to pull off this upgrade to PoS, new economies will flourish, and we could see another run up like 2017. This, however, would be likely more sustainable.”
Sokolin adds, “The shift is not all or nothing and is gradual. There will be plenty of opportunity to correct course if something goes wrong.”
A further 38.5% say they are unsure.
“To the extent that it facilitates decentralisation (which facilitates financial inclusion) and also creates the opportunity to generate income from holding crypto, it should be a good thing,” says Salami.
“However, retail investors in particular should be made aware of the risks of losses to their investments associated with staking. Much more concerning also would be the extent to which these transactions facilitate illegal activities, which, of course, fall broadly under the regulatory agenda for decentralised finance – which is still being worked out.”
Cryptocurrency sentiment score
Panellists are bullish on Bitcoin and Ethereum. In fact, they are the only two coins that panellists gave a positive sentiment score at 17 and 14, respectively.
Overall, the panel is most negative on XRP (-16), EOS (-14), Bitcoin Cash (-14), TRON (-13) and Litecoin (-12). Altcoins like Binance, Tezos, Monero and Stellar all fell somewhere in between the two extremes, with sentiment scores ranging from -1 to -9.
Warning: Binance offers cryptocurrency derivatives which the regulator banned from sale to UK consumers in January 2021.
When asked if retail investors should consider investing in currencies other than Bitcoin, the majority (64%) say yes. However, many panellists still think Bitcoin is king, while Ethereum’s utility puts it at a close second.
Ajay Shrestha thinks retail investors should look at altcoins. “BTC, being a native cryptocurrency, will always rise and thrive,” he explains. “Ethereum has lots of growth potential for being adopted as the utility of the tokens and applications to utilise blockchain-backed digital assets. Ethereum has so many developers working on it for the release of Ethereum 2.0, which will be a game-changer as people have started to purchase ETH to secure their role as with enough ETH to create blocks under proof-of-stake consensus protocol.”
Sokolin is also bullish on ETH, saying there is “Massive amount of activity on the Ethereum blockchain, with dozens of popular, usable products.”
Michael Conn says, “I see continuing demand for BTC and ETH driving the market positively.”
Jack Purdy says that outside of BTC and ETH, other top assets fail to meet a use case. “Bitcoin is the only asset with a clear product market fit as digital gold,” Purdy says. “Ethereum is close, as it’s becoming a high-powered, programmable collateral for the digital financial world. DeFi is innovating at an extraordinary rate, which is a strong tailwind for the Ethereum ecosystem. Outside of those, the previously mentioned top assets fail to satisfy any real use (particularly ones intended strictly for payments).”
Jimmy Song is one of nearly a third of panellists who don’t think altcoins are worth investing in.
“Altcoins just aren’t performing well. They have more volatility than Bitcoin without its liquidity,” he says.
Hawkins agrees, noting, “Altcoins tend to follow Bitcoin price, which I regard as more likely to fall than rise.”
Finder surveyed 28 fintech leaders online in June 2020.
To create the cryptocurrency sentiment rating, we assigned the value of 1 for every positive response, 0 for a neutral response and -1 for every negative response per panelist.
We asked our panelists to disclose cryptocurrencies they’ve owned and potential conflicts of interest: Jimmy Song: BTC Ben Ritchie: BTC, ETH, BNB, XLM, XRM, LTC David Wills: Bitcoin, Ether Sagi Bakshi: BTC Jack Purdy: BTC, ETH, HNT Iwa Salami: Bitcoin, Ethereum Lex Sokolin: Works for ConsenSys and has interest in BTC, ETH, BAT, LINK John Hawkins: None Ajay Shrestha: BTC, ET Raphael Tressieres: Alex Mashinsky: BTC, ETH, CEL Josh Fraser: BTC, ETH, OGN Desmond Marshall: BTC, ETH; no conflict of interest Joseph Raczynski: has owned BTC and ETH in the past Sukhi Jutla: ETH Nicolas Van Hoorde: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tezos Jonathan Leong: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, BTSE Token Craig Cobb: BTC, ADA, XRP, LINK, ETH XLM Michael Conn: BTC, ETH, DOGE, ZIL Robert Johnson: I would never consider speculating in cryptocurrencies Tyler Smith: Yes. BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, BSV, XLM, ADA, DGB, RDD, LINK, VET, ZIL. No conflicts, just have a diverse portfolio Fred Schebesta: BTC Gavin Smith: Panxora Crypto I Hedge Fund actively trades BTC, BSV, BCH, ETH, OMG, NEO, XRP Zac Prince: BTC, ETH Lee Smales: None. No conflict of interest Jason Lau: BTC, ETH, LTC, XLM, EOS, BNB, XRM Paul Levy: None and no Elvira Sojli: No
What’s in store for crypto and digital currencies? Finder surveyed 10 fintech leaders to find out.
Disclaimer:
This information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of cryptocurrency or any specific provider,
service or offering. It is not a recommendation to trade. Cryptocurrencies are speculative, complex and
involve significant risks – they are highly volatile and sensitive to secondary activity. Performance
is unpredictable and past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Consider your own
circumstances, and obtain your own advice, before relying on this information. You should also verify
the nature of any product or service (including its legal status and relevant regulatory requirements)
and consult the relevant Regulators' websites before making any decision. Finder, or the author, may
have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.
Bitcoin price decline
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has declined by 8% from the start of the year to April 1, 2020. The reason behind this precipitous dip? COVID-19, according to our panel, which overwhelmingly (90%) believes it’s due to the fear of a coronavirus-triggered recession.
Technologist at Thomson Reuters Joseph Raczynski notes that in the current climate, institutional investors were quick to dump Bitcoin.
“The reason for the drop in BTC price is a direct result of institutions unloading the coin in a rush to cash as soon as the virus impact was identified. It happened across all assets, but what it proved was that institutions actually did invest over the last few years in crypto,” he says.
However, the virus isn’t only to blame. Half the panel thinks the price drop is partly a result of Bitcoin’s failure to hold its price as traditional markets drop, while 30% think the Plus Token scam had an impact. A further 20% say miners stockpiling BTC ahead of the halving are responsible.
It sounds like the fear of a corona-triggered recession is warranted, with many economists now forecasting a global recession. But what will this mean for Bitcoin? The good news is that nearly everyone on the panel (90%) thinks BTC could survive a financial crisis on par with the GFC, with just one panelist saying they were unsure.
Managing Director at Digital Capital Management Ben Ritchie suggests uncertainty could act in Bitcoin’s favor.
“Bitcoin is seen as an economic and political hedge, which will attract interest during the tumultuous time,” Ritchie says. “Increasing interest by institutional investors has seen Bitcoin become a more common composite of their portfolios, and this is expected to increase in the current climate.”
A similar sentiment is echoed by BlockToken cofounder Genson Glier.
“Most individuals will have some loss of faith in their government, especially given this crisis. This loss and lack of trust is just one of the reasons why BTC has been able to establish itself. I think people will see it as an additional asset class for wealth distribution, now more so than ever,” he says.
Bitcoin price forecast
So what’s in store for Bitcoin in 2020? According to the panel, we might see a recovery over the next quarter. The panel predicts BTC will return near to January’s prices by June 30th, with an average price prediction of $7,163. However, the predictions range from as little as $1,200 to as high as $15,000, so there’s a large difference of opinion, with the median forecast sitting -12.75% below the average forecast at $6,250.
Between now and then, the next Bitcoin halving is expected to occur. But its effects are likely to be subdued in a world consumed with fear over COVID-19. The majority of the panel (80%) says recession fears will nullify the hype around the upcoming Bitcoin halving, with just 20% — or two panelists — saying that it won’t. Fred Schebesta goes as far as to say that “halving talk is out the window,” while Elvira Sojli, an associate professor at the University of New South Wales, says the upcoming halving is supporting Bitcoin’s price.
“The shrinkage in resources due to losses in the stock markets and demand for goods further depress the BTC price. The halving is the only thing keeping the price above the $5,000 threshold,” Sojli says.
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The end-of-year prediction is more positive at an average of $15,499 — more than double its value on January 1. However, here too the average is far from the median forecast, which is -41.93% lower at $9,000.
Cofounder of Finder Fred Schebesta is the most bullish on Bitcoin, predicting an end-of-year price of $35,000.
“We have a wave of discomfort rapidly approaching us. Depending on how proactive we are as a collective will dramatically change the possibility of seeing a $35K Bitcoin,” Schebesta says. “However, if the world works together to push past this virus in coming months, I can see the market returning to Bitcoin as it does what it does best: recovers and grows.”
Ritchie isn’t far behind Schebesta with an end-of-year prediction of $34,500, but he says it won’t all be smooth sailing.
“Even if the halving creates price action in Bitcoin leading into May, I expect there to be a subsequent sell off prior to June 30, 2020,” he says.
“With significant QE packages globally, the spotlight may be cast to the benefits of a decentralised currency earlier than expected. In addition, some of the stimulus packages may find its way into the crypto markets. Subject to timing, I remain of the view that Bitcoin will reach all-time highs this year. The next one to two years is shaping to be a perfect storm for Bitcoin.”
Not all panelists are as optimistic. Dr. John Hawkins from the University of Canberra predicts BTC will be worth just $2,000 by year’s end, calling it “a failed experiment” and “only a tool for speculators with no underlying worth.”
Managing Director at Rouge International Desmond Marshall also thinks BTC price will decline significantly by year’s end, arguing it doesn’t work as a currency.
“The virus will drag on,” Marshall says. “People’s jobs and businesses are at peril. You can’t buy bread or masks with Bitcoin. So as a currency, it couldn’t work. As an investment asset, people would most likely buy precious metals or stocks that are well below their value. The market will have enough distractions to pull investors’ money away. But a diversified portfolio is still required, and many couldn’t sell Bitcoin normally now, meaning they will still hold a portion lingering.”
Is Bitcoin a safe-haven asset?
While the medium- to longer-term forecast for Bitcoin is positive on average, the fact that BTC has echoed the equities market puts a question mark over whether it can be considered a safe-haven asset. The majority (60%) of panelists say its recent behaviour affects its viability as a safe-haven asset, while the other 40% says it doesn’t.
Marshall says techies and coin buyers wishfully hope Bitcoin could become a safe-haven asset like gold, “but as we see, the market is still slow on picking it up as a commonly tradable item. Hard-to-trade means hard to liquidate. In harsh times like now, gold is being liquidated aggressively, because it can have a good amount of buyers. Bitcoin still could not.”
Ritchie concedes that Bitcoin is currently seen as a high-risk asset but argues it could be a safe haven down the track.
“The recent short-term liquidity impact contributed to its correlation to equity markets and does not impact its future viability to become a safe haven. It continues to trade more in line with risk assets than safe havens, which is consistent with its performance to date in periods of extreme market volatility. Monero, a privacy-centric cryptocurrency, is seeing above-average performance currently, which would suggest that there is growing demand for safe-haven private assets. It is interesting to note that even gold has suffered from violent price fluctuations recently, dropping approximately 12% before bouncing off its 50-week moving average.”
Cryptocurrency sentiment score
To get an idea of how our panel feels about the future of cryptocurrency, we asked if they’re positive, negative or neutral on the following 11 cryptocurrencies.
The panel is most optimistic about the future for both Bitcoin and Ethereum, with sentiment scores of 2. This is the result of 60% of the panel having a positive outlook for the two coins.
When discussing the futures of these two coins, Ajay Shrestha, a Ph.D. candidate at Sessional Lecturer University of Saskatchewan, says, “I believe BTC (and ETH) will be more widely adopted on a long-term basis. BTC being a native cryptocurrency has lots of growth potential. Ethereum being adopted for the utility of the tokens and applications to utilise blockchain-backed digital assets will continue to rise and thrive.”
When asked for her opinion on what the future holds for crypto, Elvira Sojli thinks that the future does not look good.
“This is a general crypto trend, as it relates to where the economy is heading. Right now the only direction is down, with the slowdown in the movement of goods and people.”
Meet our panel
Genson Glier, Cofounder, BlockToken
Dr. John Hawkins, Assistant Professor, University of Canberra
Richard Heart, Founder, HEX
Sukhi Jutla, COO & Cofounder, MarketOrders
Desmond Marshall, Managing Director, Rouge International
Joseph Raczynski, Technologist, Thomson Reuters
Ben Ritchie, Managing Director, Digital Capital Management
Fred Schebesta, Cofounder, Finder and Crypto Finder
Ajay Shrestha, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Saskatchewan
Dr. Elvira Sojli, Associate Professor, University of New South Wales
Methodology
Finder surveyed 10 fintech leaders online in May 2020. Current Bitcoin prices were taken from Coin Market Cap on January 2, 2019.
To create the cryptocurrency sentiment rating, we assigned the value of 1 for every positive response, 0 for a neutral response and -1 for every negative response per panelist.
We asked our panelists to disclose cryptocurrencies they’ve owned and potential conflicts of interest: Desmond Marshall: BTC, ETH Fred Schebesta: BTC Genson Glier: All the large “cap” tokens and a few alt coins. Elvira Sojli: None. Sukhi Jutla: I hold Ether (small amount, approximately $200 USD in value) Richard Heart: I founded the HEX. I own some BTC and some ETH. Joseph Raczynski: I’m a constant watcher of all of the top 10 cryptocurrencies. John Hawkins: None Ajay Shrestha: BTC, ETH Ben Ritchie: BTC, ETH, LTC, XLM, EOS, BNB, XRM
Since bitcoin set sail in 2009, cryptocurrencies have made waves across the globe. The big question on everyone’s lips: What will these coins be worth in the future?
We’ve set out to ask a panel of fintech leaders for their 2019 cryptocurrency predictions.
Read on for 2019 cryptocurrency predictions from finder.com’s panellists. You can also see why they think Bitcoin has surged in May 2019, by reading our Bitcoin Predictions Panel.
For our 2019 report, 10 panellists predict the movements of 13 coins. These include the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap — bitcoin (BTC), XRP (XRP), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), EOS (EOS), Stellar Lumens (XLM), Litecoin (LTC), TRON (TRX), Bitcoin SV (BSV) and Cardano (ADA) — as well as the top three trending coins, Monero (XMR), Binance Coin (BNB) and Ethereum Classic (ETC).
Which coins are expected to see the highest growth in 2019?
While all coins are predicted to increase by 31 December 2019, our panellists are particularly optimistic about EOS (727%), Binance Coin (459%) and TRON (449%).
Cryptocurrency
Current price per unit (as of 29 Jan 2019) (USD)
Price prediction on 31 Dec 2019 (USD)
% change to 31 Dec 2019
Binance Coin
$6.24
$34.90
459%
Bitcoin
$3,473.41
$6,549
89%
Bitcoin Cash
$112.72
$232
106%
Bitcoin Cash SV
$65.85
$105.33
60%
Cardano
$0.038885
$0.14
260%
Ether
$106.89
$285.09
167%
Ethereum Classic
$3.99
$19.35
385%
EOS
$2.26
$18.70
727%
Litecoin
$31.38
$60.06
91%
Monero
$43.70
$68.50
57%
Stellar Lumens
$0.08824
$0.18
104%
TRON
$0.027326
$0.15
449%
XRP
$0.29591
$0.44
49%
Market capitalisations
When it comes to forecast market capitalisations for bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether and Bitcoin Cash SV, Ether is expected to see the greatest increase in market cap by 31 December 2019 at 179.3%. Ether is followed by bitcoin (95.4%) and Bitcoin Cash (51.3%), with Bitcoin Cash SV forecast to take a small dip (-5%).
We calculated market cap predictions using the number of coins expected in circulation by the end of the year and our panellists’ forecast of each coin’s value by the end of the year.
Craig Cobb runs TraderCobb.com, designed to educate people on crypto trading in a way that’s simple, easy and logical. He previously worked as a trader and mentor for global company Trade With Precision.
Fred Schebesta is co-founder of global comparison website Finder and OTC broker service HiveEx.com. Fred is an award-winning entrepreneur, author, mentor, cryptocurrency advocate and regular on the startup speaker circuit.
Jimmy Song is a bitcoin core developer, educator and entrepreneur. He is a venture partner at Blockchain Capital LLC and teaches bitcoin and blockchain programming at Programming Blockchain.
Alisa Gus is CEO of a blockchain gamified social market network. Its goal is to help communities grow and stay engaged through blockchain technology. She is also a founding member of the DC Digital Economy Hub.
Joseph Raczynski is an experienced technology consultant and manager specialising in blockchain technology, who helps clients to innovate and become forward thinkers in their space. He also specialises in AI, cybersecurity and legal technology.
Brendan Markey-Towler is an affiliated researcher at RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub, where he conducts research on institutional cryptoeconomics. He previously taught economics at UoQ and UCL.
Ajay Kumar Shrestha is a PhD candidate at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. He is currently conducting research into using blockchain technology to share personal information, while preserving user-controlled privacy.
Co-Pierre Georg is an associate professor in finance at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He is also director of the UCT Financial Innovation Lab and a research economist at Deutsche Bundesbank.
Sarah Bergstrand is COO of BitBull Capital, a crypto hedge fund with a focus on research into crypto markets and asset investment. Her previous experience includes COO of a venture-backed tech company.
Genson Glier is co-founder and CEO of BlockToken.ai, a next-generation token issuance platform that aims to simplify ICOs. Glier also works with Kapitalized ICO Advisory, helping early-state ventures grow.
Bitcoin hit $3,439 on 1 February 2019. But did anyone predict it? Futurist and technologist Joseph Raczynski was the closest, predicting bitcoin would be valued at $3,500 by 1 February 2019 — within $61 of its actual value. Read the predictions below.
“We are entering a new period with bitcoin. Many of the institutional players have said they are done with this experiment (publicly), which may be the case. I think privately, some other hedge funds and other institutions will continue to invest during this lower period. However, I do believe this is temporary. If there are any dramatic shifts with the economy (the expectation is slightly more likely than not), bitcoin will be a safe haven. I feel like the economy will begin to change in 2019. And this will, in part, help BTC grow.”
Disclaimer:
This information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of cryptocurrency or any specific provider,
service or offering. It is not a recommendation to trade. Cryptocurrencies are speculative, complex and
involve significant risks – they are highly volatile and sensitive to secondary activity. Performance
is unpredictable and past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Consider your own
circumstances, and obtain your own advice, before relying on this information. You should also verify
the nature of any product or service (including its legal status and relevant regulatory requirements)
and consult the relevant Regulators' websites before making any decision. Finder, or the author, may
have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.
Binance Coin (BNB)
$6.24
Current price per unit as of 29 Jan 2019 in USD
$34.90 +459%
Average price prediction for 31 Dec 2019 in USD
Binance Coin was valued at $6.24 as of 29 January 2019. Binance Coin is predicted to experience the second-greatest increase by 31 December 2019, with a total predicted growth of 459% — at a value of $34.90.
Warning: Binance offers cryptocurrency derivatives which the regulator banned from sale to UK consumers in January 2021.
Note: Only two of our panellists provided predictions for Binance Coin this month.
Ajay Kumar Shrestha UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
US$6Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$6.80Price by 31 Dec 2019
Genson Glier BLOCKTOKEN.AI
US$7.25 Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$63 Price by 31 Dec 2019
Joseph Raczynski JOETECHNOLOGIST.COM
MY PREDICTION
“Like the company, can’t comment.”
Co-Pierre Georg UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
MY PREDICTION
“I do not follow Binance Coin, hence no prediction.”
Binance Coin historical prices vs average price prediction for 31 December (USD)
Bitcoin was valued at $3,473 as of 29 January 2019. Our panellists predict the coin will increase by 89% by the end of the year.You can also see why they think Bitcoin has surged in May 2019, by reading our Bitcoin Predictions Panel.
The number of bitcoin expected to circulate by the end of 2019 is 18,133,459, based on 1,730 coins mined a day. From here, we can work out the estimated market capitalisation for 31 December 2019. Based on our panellists’ forecasts of value per coin by 31 December, the predicted market cap for bitcoin by the end of 2019 is $118.8 billion.
“As next-generation consensus algorithms emerge that address the trilemma of scalability, security and decentralization; regulatory settings stabilize; and use cases continue to be discovered and demonstrated, I think we are likely to see steady gains in the scope of blockchain as an institutional technology for economic governance. Though bitcoin will continue to rely on proof-of-work algorithms, I suspect that we will see it become something of a base currency within the crypto economy, akin to the US dollar, special drawing rights and gold, so that it’s value will be correlated with the steady gains of blockchain technology as a whole.”
Co-Pierre Georg UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
US$3,500Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$1,000Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$18.1 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“There is some volatility in the short run that will probably see the value stay roughly where it is. However, in the medium to long run, there are substantial regulatory risks to the industry as a whole, coming both from China and the US. With companies like Facebook pushing their own stablecoin, new competitors to bitcoin will emerge that add price pressure.”
Ajay Kumar Shrestha UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
US$2,800Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$5,000Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$90.7 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“The failings for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin since the last year lies with the uncertainty of its legal existence. Experts are now implementing blockchain for use cases other than cryptocurrencies.”
Joe Raczynski JOETECHNOLOGIST.COM
US$3,800 Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$8,000 Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$145.07 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“Bitcoin continues to drift around the $3K range. As it stays here, its stability will at some point foster positive gains as development continues. Any major global catastrophe will give it a lift. Conversely, growth in the top 10 economies in the short run will add downward pressure for BTC.”
Alisa Gus WISHKNISH
US$3,700Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$5,000Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$90.67 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“I have been bullish in the past, so I feel like it is almost expected to keep faith at this point. But honestly, with the way BTC’s fortunes had been lately … I can’t imagine even the news of being accepted by the World Bank as their global currency of choice isn’t likely to sway the needle significantly, until those that got burned last year get over their bruised wallets and file away those tax write-offs. FYI: No, I have heard nothing about World Bank endorsing BTC as the global currency, because as we all know, in the crypto world, gossip spreads.”
Jimmy Song BLOCKCHAIN CAPITAL LLC & PROGRAMMING BLOCKCHAIN
US$3,971Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$5,901Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$107 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“There seems to be some daylight between bitcoin and other cryptos. Bitcoin will start being seen as a different asset than all the others.”
Craig Cobb TRADERCOBB.COM
US$3,000Price by 1 Mar 2019
MY PREDICTION
“With the monthly, weekly and daily in downtrends, it is not too hard to see the significant level of $3,000 being tested. This is the most critical price on bitcoin in a long time”
Sarah Bergstrand BITBULL CAPITAL
US$4,800Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$9,000Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$163.2 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“I believe that BTC will bounce between $3K and $5K for the next few months.”
Fred Schebesta FINDER and HIVEEX.COM
US$2,268Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$2,898Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$52.6 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
Genson Glier BLOCKTOKEN.AI
US$4,021Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$18,343Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$332.6 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
Bitcoin historical prices vs average price prediction for 31 December (USD)
Bitcoin Cash was valued at $112.72 as of 29 January 2019. Following the Bitcoin Cash fork in November 2018, which saw the coin split into two varieties – Bitcoin Cash ABC and Bitcoin SV — the coin has slowed over the past few months. However, the coin is expected to increase by 31 December 2019 to $232 — an increase of 106%.
The number of Bitcoin Cash coins expected to circulate by the end of 2019 is 18,172,327, based on 1,731 coins mined a day. From here, we can work out the estimated market capitalisation for 31 December 2019. Based on our panellists’ forecasts of value per coin by 31 December, the predicted market cap for Bitcoin Cash by the end of 2019 is $3 billion.
Alisa Gus WISHKNISH
US$110Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$122Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$2.2 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“Another currency that is down 36% over this month, when in general things have not been so bad for the crypto market in January. No, it’s not good. But we’re stuck in a bad cold winter of this cycle, and BCH is one of those carrying the brunt of it. Given I have never been a fan — no, I’m not gloating, but again I ask, just like Ethereum Classic (that’s recently lost its development arm altogether due to being unable to pay the salaries) — is there really much future or point to it these days?”
Co-Pierre Georg UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
US$100Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$20Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$.4 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“Same argument as bitcoin. Probably in worse shape because of their broken community. Monty Python’s Holy Grail has an apt depiction of the community fights in BCH.”
Joe Raczynski JOETECHNOLOGIST.COM
US$130 Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$150 Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$2.7 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“I’m still reeling over the 51% attack. It’s a fun one to watch if you enjoy volatility in quick spurts, up and down. Long term, I thought this could displace BTC originally. But now I don’t think that will happen.”
Ajay Kumar Shrestha UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
US$120Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$135Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$2.5 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
Genson Glier BLOCKTOKEN.AI
US$126Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$734Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$13.3 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
Bitcoin Cash historical prices vs average price prediction for 31 December (USD)
Bitcoin Cash SV was valued at $65.85 as of 29 January 2019. Compared with the ABC variety, Bitcoin Cash SV isn’t predicted to increase as much by the end of the year, with a forecasted growth of just 60% by 31 December 2019.
An associate professor at the University of Cape Town, Co-Pierre Georg gives a bearish of $0 by 31 December. He says, “Unsustainable, mining at a loss will eventually deplete reserves.”
Co-Pierre Georg UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
US$60Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$0Market cap by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“Unsustainable, mining at a loss will eventually deplete reserves.”
Ajay Kumar Shrestha UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
US$70Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$85Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$1.5 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
Genson Glier BLOCKTOKEN.AI
US$79Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$231Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$4.2 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
Joe Raczynski JOETECHNOLOGIST.COM
MY PREDICTION
“Don’t truly track it.”
Bitcoin SV historical prices vs average price prediction for 31 December (USD)
Cardano was valued at $0.039 as of 29 January 2019. The coin is expected to experience a healthy 260% increase by the end of the year.
Futurist and technologist at JoeTechnology.com, Joseph Raczynski, gives a prediction of $0.06 for 31 December 2019. He notes that although it has “come down a bunch” and there are “more positive comments from this corner.”
Joe Raczynski JOETECHNOLOGIST.COM
US$0.04 Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.06 Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“More positive comments coming from this corner, though it’s more of a good from my vantage point. It’s come down a bunch.”
Ajay Kumar Shrestha UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
US$0.04Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.04Price by 31 Dec 2019
Fred Schebesta FINDER and HIVEEX.COM
US$0.14Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.17Price by 31 Dec 2019
Genson Glier BLOCKTOKEN.AI
US$0.04 Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.28 Price by 31 Dec 2019
Cardano historical prices vs average price prediction for 31 December (USD)
Ether was valued at $106.89 as of 29 January 2019. Ether is expected to increase by 167% by the end of the year, pricing it at $285.09.
The amount of Ether expected to circulate by the end of this year is 109,559,383. This allows us to work out the market capitalisation for 31 December 2019. Based on our panellists’ forecasted value per coin by 31 December 2019, the predicted market cap for Bitcoin Cash by the end of 2019 is $31.23 billion. This is the greatest increase in market capitalisation (179.3%) among the analysed coins.
“If the rollout of ETH’s next-generation consensus algorithms can be implemented — which substantially address the blockchain trilemma of scalability, security and decentralization — I suspect we will observe steady gains in its value, reflecting its increasing technological scope.”
Co-Pierre Georg UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
US$120Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$20Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$2.19 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“Ethereum is under even greater threat than bitcoin. Bitcoin escaped most teething issues, but Ethereum is facing existential challenges with the mismanagement at ConsenSys. In addition, ICO treasuries still hold relatively sizable Ethereum holdings, which they will sell as prices continue to deteriorate. Eventually, strategic complementarities between companies that launched ICOs on ETH and large wallets will lead to a run for the exit. At this point, the price will collapse.”
Ajay Kumar Shrestha UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
US$130Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$190Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$20.82 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“Ethereum, without the proof of stake, will have it hard for at least a year. After the Constantinople hard fork, which might take place in February, it can have an unpredictable price too. After being delayed due to vulnerability observed in the smart contracts with regard to the gas consumption, there appear to be other security concerns with the smart contract coding.”
Joe Raczynski JOETECHNOLOGIST.COM
US$135 Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$400 Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$43.82 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“With the eventual upgrade in place by the end of February, hopefully there will be more stability. There was a real run, which could happen again in several weeks. Let’s see if it sticks.”
Alisa Gus WISHKNISH
US$105Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$120Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$13.15 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“While Ripple’s downturn doesn’t worry me in the slightest these days, Ethereum has lost so much ground — and, most importantly, trader confidence of late — whenever I see the downward trend, I kind of cringe. Admittedly, as a first through the gate, I didn’t expect it to stand the test of time — at least, not without major upgrades the leadership has been struggling to implement. It is still disheartening to see it stumble. And unless things dramatically improve, I don’t see a major change in its fortunes until at least the third quarter of this year, if then.”
Craig Cobb TRADERCOBB.COM
US$85Price by 1 Mar 2019
MY PREDICTION
“Nothing but downward momentum carrying this market right now, so I see ETH following suit.”
Sarah Bergstrand BITBULL CAPITAL
US$135Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$200Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$21.91 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“I believe ETH will bounce between $115 and $140 for the next couple of months.”
Fred Schebesta FINDER and HIVEEX.COM
US$70.56Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$85.68Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$9.39 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
Genson Glier BLOCKTOKEN.AI
US$143Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$1,125Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$123.25 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
Ether historical prices vs average price prediction for 31 December (USD)
Ethereum Classic was valued at $3.99 as of 29 January 2019.
The average panellist prediction for the coin come 31 December is $19.35, an increase of 385%. However, Genson Glier provides a notably higher predicted price than other panellists — $67 by the end of the year — while Co-Pierre Georg gives the lowest prediction of $0, saying, “The question is moot.”
Joe Raczynski, who gave a prediction of $6 for the end of the year, is also pessimistic about the future of the coin. He comments, “What a mess! Another 51% attack here, which killed my enthusiasm for it. I was a purist and appreciated what it represented, but that’s almost gone. It will rise though eventually this year as the attack drifts from people’s short-term memory — easy to do with these things.”
Joe Raczynski JOETECHNOLOGIST.COM
US$4 Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$6 Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“What a mess! Another 51% attack here, which killed my enthusiasm for it. I was a purist and appreciated what it represented, but that’s almost gone. It will rise though eventually this year as the attack drifts from people’s short-term memory — easy to do with these things.”
Co-Pierre Georg UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
US$4Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“The question is moot.”
Ajay Kumar Shrestha UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
US$4.18Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$4.40Price by 31 Dec 2019
Genson Glier BLOCKTOKEN.AI
US$4.89Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$67Price by 31 Dec 2019
Ethereum Classic historical prices vs average price prediction for 31 December (USD)
As of 29 January, EOS’s price was $2.26. The annual forecast is bullish, with our panellists predicting that EOS will finish the year at $18.70 — a 727% increase.
Affiliated researcher at RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub Brendan Markey-Towler, whose price prediction for 31 December was also the median panellist prediction at $2.80, put it this way: “As EOS transitions with NEO and Ethereum to next-generation consensus algorithms, I suspect their scope as an institutional technology will increase, and their value with it.”
Not everyone is so positive, with Georg predicting EOS will be priced at only $1.50 come New Year’s Eve. His reasoning is that while it has sufficient cash reserves to withstand the bear market, general price pressure will affect them.
Alisa Gus WISHKNISH
US$2.45Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$4.30Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“And speaking of EOS … Did I hate it for a while, as you all know? Yes. Do I think it has potential, especially in gaming — where its speeds can’t be beat, and privacy, transparency and everything else that makes a blockchain economy a blockchain economy (and that is singularly lacking in EOS)? Yes, again. But should it be at 2 bucks and change. Yeah, no. So, I am bullish. Cautiously so. And yes, while it can survive unattached to BTC’s train, I’m still not sure it’s ready to fully uncouple.”
Joe Raczynski JOETECHNOLOGIST.COM
US$3 Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$6 Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“This one shocks me the most. Either there is something going on with the project, or the press about it being less than a decentralized is legit and they haven’t recovered publicly yet. I’ve been off on this one. They’ve dropped further than I would have predicted.”
“As EOS transitions with NEO and Ethereum to next-generation consensus algorithms, I suspect their scope as an institutional technology will increase, and their value with it.”
Co-Pierre Georg UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
US$2.30Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$1.50Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“EOS has sufficient cash reserves to withstand the bear market. But general price pressure will affect them as well.”
Ajay Kumar Shrestha UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
US$2.34Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$2.36Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“EOS and all other cryptos are directly proportional to bitcoin’s price.”
Fred Schebesta FINDER and HIVEEX.COM
US$1.56Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$1.96Price by 31 Dec 2019
Genson Glier BLOCKTOKEN.AI
US$3.23Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$112Price by 31 Dec 2019
Craig Cobb TRADERCOBB.COM
US$1.70Price by 1 Mar 2019
EOS historical prices vs average price prediction for 31 December (USD)
Litecoin was valued at $31.38 on 29 January. Interestingly, our panellists predicted a short-term decrease, but a 91% price increase come 31 December. This means Litecoin would be valued at more than $60.
Three panellists note that Litecoin will likely trend in the same trajectory as bitcoin. Raczynski, who believes Litecoin will be worth $50 by the year’s end, says, “It will echo BTC, but marginally.” PhD candidate at the University of Saskatchewan, Ajay Kumar Shrestha, predicts an end-of-year price of $40, explaining, “LTC and all other cryptos are directly proportional to the bitcoin price.”
Joe Raczynski JOETECHNOLOGIST.COM
US$35 Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$50 Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“Honestly, this isn’t my favorite project. Their tech is getting better, but it mimics what BTC is doing on a smaller imprinted scale. It will echo BTC, but marginally.”
Alisa Gus WISHKNISH
US$33Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$50Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“So here, no noose is good noose, to quote the jolly hangman from Mel Brook’s Men in Tights. Litecoin has been stuck in its general BTC-inspired curve lately — and that’s good enough, especially if you consider that I haven’t heard much new or interesting coming from its camp of late. It’s coasting for now and likely will trend in the same trajectory against bitcoin in the next few months.”
Ajay Kumar Shrestha UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
US$30Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$42Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
LTC and all other cryptos are directly proportional to bitcoin’s price.”
Craig Cobb TRADERCOBB.COM
US$23Price by 1 Mar 2019
Fred Schebesta FINDER and HIVEEX.COM
US$13.74Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$15.30Price by 31 Dec 2019
Genson Glier BLOCKTOKEN.AI
US$38Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$143Price by 31 Dec 2019
Litecoin historical prices vs average price prediction for 31 December (USD)
Panellists also predict Monero, which came in at $43.70 on 29 January, to take a small dip before trending upward to hit $68.50. TraderCobb.com founder Craig Cobb is most pessimistic about the coin’s short-term value, predicting “some fresh trend lows” to $35 if it “breaks the current support around $43.”
However, Joe Raczynski is bullish about the coins long-term prospects given its use by criminals. He put it this way: “With more crypto jacking happening, greater general interest will follow, driving this higher.”
“I suspect that Monero, as a specifically privacy-oriented cryptocurrency, will find its value correlated with cryptocurrencies based on next-generation consensus algorithms in a similar manner to bitcoin. I expect Monero may become like bitcoin: a base currency akin to the USD, SDRs and gold.”
Joe Raczynski JOETECHNOLOGIST.COM
US$50 Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$70 USD Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“Personally, I believe in Monero, since it is being widely used by the most hardened criminals and some of the good guys. With more crypto jacking happening, greater general interest will follow, driving this higher. That’s pretty sad though.”
Craig Cobb TRADERCOBB.COM
US$35Price by 1 Mar 2019
MY PREDICTION
“If Monero breaks the current support around $43, then I can see some fresh trend lows.”
Genson Glier BLOCKTOKEN.AI
US$49Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$89Price by 31 Dec 2019
Ajay Kumar Shrestha UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
US$35 USDPrice by 1 Mar 2019
US$65Price by 31 Dec 2019
Co-Pierre Georg UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
MY PREDICTION
“I do not follow Monero, hence no prediction.”
Monero historical prices vs average price prediction for 31 December (USD)
Predictions are positive for Stellar, with panellists predicting the coin to increase to $0.18 by 31 December — 104% increase from the $0.09 price on 29 January.
BitBull Capital COO Sarah Bergstrand — who believes that “Stellar will bounce between $0.10 and $0.15 for the next few months” — predicts the coin will end the year at $0.30. This is vastly different from Co-Pierre Georg’s end-of-year price prediction of $0.05, which is low due to his belief that the general bear market will continue to exert pressure on Stellar Lumens’s price.
Alisa Gus WISHKNISH
US$0.10Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.30Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“Now Stellar has surprised me, honestly, over this past month, having tumbled, what … almost 30% in the last 30 days. What’s behind it? Likely the general market sentiment has something to do with it, along with launching and centralizing the exchange and changing its protocol to fit the launch. While I can see why they want to try this out, I, for one, am not exactly happy with the development. And I imagine, based on its traction, I’m not the only one. But, hey, I’m all about a wait-and-see approach. After all, if I gave EOS the benefit of the doubt … “
Joseph Raczynski JOETECHNOLOGIST.COM
US$0.11 Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.20 Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“Stellar is fairly predictable, though it’s down a bit at the time of this writing. I don’t see it dropping down to $.06. But in the short term, it’s doubtful to hit much above $0.14. This is more of a long-term hopeful.”
Craig Cobb TRADERCOBB.COM
US$0.06Price by 1 Mar 2019
MY PREDICTION
“Really letting go here with a bigger sell-off than most of the Top 10, I can see this continue.”
Co-Pierre Georg UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
US$0.10Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.05Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“General bear market will continue to exert pressure on Stellar Lumens’s price.”
Ajay Kumar Shrestha UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
US$0.10Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.11Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“XLM and all other cryptos are directly proportional to bitcoin’s price.”
Sarah Bergstrand BITBULL CAPITAL
US$0.12Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.30Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“I believe Stellar will bounce between $0.10 and $0.15 for the next few months.”
Fred Schebesta FINDER and HIVEEX.COM
US$0.07Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.09Price by 31 Dec 2019
Genson Glier BLOCKTOKEN.AI
US$0.09Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.23Price by 31 Dec 2019
Stellar Lumens historical prices vs average price prediction for 31 December (USD)
Of all coins included in the report, TRON earns the most positive long-term forecast, with a predicted 449% price increase to $0.15.
Co-founder of Finder and HiveEx.com, Fred Schebesta, is the only bearish panellist when it comes to TRON, predicting a value of just $0.0076 at the end of the year.
Sarah Bergstrand sums up the positive outlook of the rest of the panellists: “TRON has some great updates coming up!”
Ajay Kumar Shrestha UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
US$0.03Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.03Price by 31 Dec 2019
Joe Raczynski JOETECHNOLOGIST.COM
US$0.03 Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.05 Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“Another project waiting for more testing, but there is positive news coming out. We’ll need to see if it’s real or not.”
Sarah Bergstrand BITBULL CAPITAL
US$0.05Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.25Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“Tron has some great updates coming up!”
Fred Schebesta FINDER and HIVEEX.COM
US$0.005Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.0076Price by 31 Dec 2019
Genson Glier BLOCKTOKEN.AI
US$0.04Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.43Price by 31 Dec 2019
TRON historical prices vs average price prediction for 31 December (USD)
The price of XRP was $0.30 on 29 January. Our panellists are expecting a positive 49% increase by end of year.
Both Fred Schebesta and Co-Pierre Georg are bearish on XRP’s long-term prospects, predicting its value at $0.20 and $0.10, respectively, on 31 December. Georg, who expects a general downtrend in crypto prices, is particularly pessimistic when it comes to XRP: It “has failed to yet produce a sustainable business model that shows how they provide value beyond a settlement system.”
Both Joe Raczynski and Alisa Gus think the recent downturn could be followed by long-term certainty. However, Raczynski notes that “If it gets some legs under it, it could easily bounce, or simply continue its beleaguered ways.”
Interestingly, the panellists are divided on how closely XRP will follow in bitcoin’s footsteps. For Ajay Kumar Shrestha, “XRP and all other cryptos are directly proportional to the bitcoin price.” But Brendan Markey-Tower believes XRP will have less correlated reaction to the gains made by blockchain and “is a little less central to the crypto economy compared with bitcoin.”
“I think XRP will have a less correlated reaction to the gains to be made by blockchain as an institutional technology, as it is not implemented using blockchain technology and is a little less central to the crypto economy compared with bitcoin.”
Co-Pierre Georg UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
US$0.30Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.10Price by 31 Dec 2019
US$18.2 billionMarket cap by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“I expect a general downtrend in crypto prices. XRP in particular has failed to yet produce a sustainable business model that shows how they provide value beyond a settlement system. And settlement systems are cheaper organized when they are centralized.”
Ajay Kumar Shrestha UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
US$0.31Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.33Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“XRP and all other cryptos are directly proportional to bitcoin’s price. I believe XRP can be a pretty good contender in the crypto world.”
Joe Raczynski JOETECHNOLOGIST.COM
US$0.38 Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.60 Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“I’ve been disheartened by the downward trend with Ripple. Even though they have several solid pilots afloat, it’s not reflected in its price. This is a toss-up. If it gets some legs under it, it could easily bounce, or simply continue its beleaguered ways. So short-term uncertainty, long-term gains.”
Alisa Gus WISHKNISH
US$0.34Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.50Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“This keeps looking up for Ripple, as more and more banks adopt it (even as insurance companies jump on at least piloting the Corda bandwagon). Even with the recent downswing, I am still confident there is fuel in its tank to go further — and keep uncoupling itself from the BTC’s train.”
Craig Cobb TRADERCOBB.COM
US$0.25Price by 1 Mar 2019
MY PREDICTION
“In a downtrend on the daily. I can see a move to last year’s lows on the cards.”
Sarah Bergstrand BITBULL CAPITAL
US$0.42Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.80Price by 31 Dec 2019
MY PREDICTION
“I believe XRP will continue to bounce between $0.35 and $0.50 for the next couple of months.”
Fred Schebesta FINDER and HIVEEX.COM
US$0.15Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.20Price by 31 Dec 2019
Genson Glier BLOCKTOKEN.AI
US$0.41Price by 1 Mar 2019
US$0.72Price by 31 Dec 2019
XRP historical prices vs average price prediction for 31 December (USD)
Here’s what our panellists had to say when asked about the coins they think are up and coming this year.
“XBT, ETH and ZEC. XBT is the king of cryptos, no matter what others say! ETH after the fork will probably bring in more developers and investors. ZEC, of course, being the most overwhelmed crypto that brings a certain level of anonymity, is surely going to be the up for sure.”Ajay Kumar Shrestha
“XRP, TRON, Cardano.”Alisa Gus
“Although they are already established, I think NEO, ETH and EOS as they transition to next-generation algorithms will be cryptocurrencies to watch. They are aggressively seeking to expand their scope as institutional technologies and are poised to be most likely to advance in that way. If they succeed, I think they could become central to our future economic systems, with valuations accordingly reflecting that centrality. I would also keep an eye on privacy-oriented blockchains such as Monero and Loki, as I suspect that they may increasingly become reserve assets within the new crypto economy.”Brendan Markey-Towler
“We are in a severe bear market. This will intensify before it turns around. I do not see any coin really emerging, aside from stablecoins coming out of Gemini and Facebook/WhatsApp.”Co-Pierre Georg
“EOS.”Genson Glier
“Stablecoins. They are the rage, and I don’t see this slowing for the next few months.”Joseph Raczynski
“Qtum has a lot of big things planned for 2019.”Sarah Bergstrand
Methodology and disclaimer
Here’s how we calculated the number of bitcoins we expect to circulate:
Some 12.5 bitcoins are reportedly mined every block, with each block taking an average 10 minutes 40 seconds for mining.
The reward for Ether is 3 coins for every block mined, with each block taking approximately 17.6 seconds to mine, according to data from BitInfoCharts.
Using this data, we calculated that approximately 1,731 bitcoins (14,727 ETH) are produced daily.
We then worked out the predicted market cap by the panellists’ forecast of value per coin.
We calculated market cap for bitcoin and Ether, which report the number of coins available.
We chose our 13 coins using the top 10 with the largest market capitalisation reported by CoinMarketCap plus three of the top coins with the highest social volume reported by Solume.io as of 18 January 2019.
All prices listed were taken according to Australian EST.
Note that our panellists have holdings in the following cryptocurrencies:
Ajay Kumar StresthaETH.
Alisa GusBTC, Ripple, Ethereum.
Brendan Markey-TowlerN/A
Co-Pierre GeorgDid not disclose.
Craig CobbBTC, USDT, ADA, XRP, XLM.
Fred SchebestaEOS, ETH.
Genson GlierThe top 100.
Jimmy SongBTC.
Joseph RaczynskiI’ve been involved with most of the top ten.
Sarah BergstrandTop 100.
Past predictions
Cryptocurrency
Current price per unit (as of Jan. 2, 2019) (USD)
Price prediction on Feb. 1, 2019 (USD)
Price prediction on Dec. 31, 2019 (USD)
% change to Feb. 1, 2019
% change to Dec. 31, 2019
Bitcoin
$3,776
$3,494
$6,947
-7%
84%
Cardano
$$0.04
$0.06
$0.08
43%
91%
DOGE
$0.0024
$0.0013
$0.0006
-47%
-75%
Ether
$140
$117
$218
-17%
55%
EOS
$2.64
$2.32
$4.68
-12%
77%
Litecoin
$31.64
$20.61
$24.44
-35%
-23%
Monero
$47.55
$40.50
$62.39
-15%
31%
NEO
$7.67
$5.34
$5.64
-30%
-26%
Stellar Lumens
$0.114
$0.21
$0.41
84%
260%
TRON
$0.0193
$0.0093
$0.0192
-52%
-0.32%
XRP
$0.36
0.32
0.52
-11%
44%
December 2018
Cryptocurrency
Current price per unit (as of Nov. 27, 2018) (USD)
Price prediction on Jan. 1, 2019 (USD)
Price prediction on Dec. 31, 2019 (USD)
Median prediction for Jan. 1, 2019
% change to Jan. 1, 2019
% change to Dec. 31, 2019
Bitcoin
$3,740.11
$6,778
$10,944
$5,450
81%
193%
Bitcoin Cash
$181.43
$207
$567
$200
14%
213%
Binance Coin
$4.85
$3.31
$11
$5
-32%
127%
Cardano
$0.03
$0.06
$0.12
$0.04
72%
245%
Ether
$105.57
$141
$453
$120
34%
329%
EOS
$3.12
$3.75
$15.02
$3
20%
381%
Litecoin
$29.24
$25.30
$70.50
$30
-13%
141%
Monero
$53.31
$55
$25
$55
3%
-53%
XRP
$0.35
$0.36
$0.68
$0.41
3%
94%
Stellar Lumens
$0.14
$0.28
$0.42
$0.18
99%
198%
TRON
$0.0114
$0.01
$0.003
$0.01
-12%
-74%
November 2018
Cryptocurrency
Current price per unit (as of October 31, 2018) (USD)
Price prediction on Jan. 1, 2019 (USD)
Price prediction on Dec. 31, 2019 (USD)
% change to Jan. 1, 2019
% change to Dec. 31, 2019
Bitcoin
$6,337.64
$8,200
$16,732
29%
164%
Ether
$197.95
$261
$615
32%
211%
XRP
$0.44
$0.57
$1.90
28%
327%
Bitcoin Cash
$421.60
$475
$739
13%
75%
EOS
$5.14
$5.83
$14.87
13%
189%
Stellar Lumens
$0.2246
$0.28
$0.45
25%
100%
Litecoin
$49.26
$56
$80
14%
62%
Cardano
$0.07
$0.08
$0.11
15%
58%
Monero
$102.62
$ 111
$158
8%
54%
TRON
$0.0222
0.02
$0.04
-10%
80%
Binance Coin
$9.40
$ 9.91
$15
5%
60%
Bytecoin
$0.0013
0.0013
$0.0012
3%
-5%
Verge
$0.0136
0.024
$0.0280
76%
105%
October 2018
Cryptocurrency
Current price per unit (as of Sept. 26, 2018) (USD)
Price prediction on Nov. 1, 2018 (USD)
Price prediction on Dec. 31, 2018 (USD)
Price prediction on Dec. 31, 2019 (USD)
% change to Nov. 1, 2018
% change to Dec. 31, 2018
% change to Dec. 31, 2019
Bitcoin
$6,413
$7,340
$10,319
$20,531
14%
61%
220%
Bitcoin Cash
$434
$440
$513
$617
1%
18%
42%
Cardano
$0.08
$0.10
$0.20
$0.33
29%
159%
327%
Dash
$185
$222
$247
$300
20%
34%
62%
Ether
$210
$288
$376
$850
37%
79%
305%
EOS
$5.29
$5.34
$6.14
$9.75
1%
16%
84%
Litecoin
$57
$55
$60
$55
-3%
6%
-3%
Monero
$114
$163
$220
$450
43%
93%
295%
XRP
$0.50
$0.46
$0.46
$0.72
-8%
-8%
45%
Stellar Lumens
$0.24
$0.32
$0.38
$0.48
33%
57%
99%
September 2018
Cryptocurrency
Current price per unit (as of August 30, 2018, 2018) (USD)
Price prediction on Oct 1 2018 (USD)
Price prediction on Dec. 31, 2018 (USD)
% change to Oct 1, 2018
% change to Dec. 31, 2018
Bitcoin
$7,046
$8,089
$13,711
15%
95%
Bitcoin Cash
$554
$582
$720
5%
30%
Cardano
$0.11
$0.13
$0.23
23%
117%
Ether
$290
$497
$836
72%
189%
EOS
$6.16
$4.93
$9.89
-20%
61%
Litecoin
$61.45
$76
$130
24%
112%
Monero
$104
$105
$155
1%
49%
NEO
$20.03
$18.00
$51
-10%
155%
XRP
$0.35
0.32
$0.43
-7%
25%
Stellar Lumens
$0.23
0.29
$0.40
28%
77%
TRON
$0.03
0.11
$0.11
333%
333%
VeChain
$0.02
0.47
$1.26
2664%
7310%
Lisk
$5.08
4.24
$6.54
-17%
29%
August 2018
Cryptocurrency
Current price per unit (as of July 29, 2018) (USD)
Price prediction on Sept. 1, 2018 (USD)
Price prediction on Dec. 31, 2018 (USD)
% change to Sept. 1, 2018
% change to Dec. 31, 2018
Bitcoin
$8,219
$8,539
$14,289
4%
74%
Bitcoin Cash
$829
$943
$1,352
14%
63%
Cardano
$0.163
$0.203
$0.344
24%
111%
DigiByte
$0.04
$0.058
$0.095
42%
132%
Dogecoin
$0.003
$0.0045
$0.007
36%
112%
Ether
$467
$547
$901
17%
93%
EOS
$8.34
$10.8
$19.3
30%
131%
IOTA
$1.01
$1.26
$2.25
25%
123%
Litecoin
$84.08
$96.5
$153
15%
81%
Monero
$135
$183
$247
35%
82%
Stellar Lumens
$0.31
$0.40
$0.58
31%
90%
TRON
$0.04
$0.04
$0.05
2%
27%
XRP
$0.45
$0.49
$0.8
8%
76%
July 2018
Cryptocurrency
Current price per unit (as of 28 June 2018) (USD)
Price prediction on 1 Aug 2018 (USD)
Price prediction on Dec. 31, 2018 (USD)
% change to 1 Aug 2018
% change to Dec. 31, 2018
Bitcoin
$6,154
$7,247
$15,372
18%
150%
Bitcoin Cash
$713.81
$805
$1,378
13%
93%
Cardano
$0.128
$0.237
$0.509
85%
299%
Dogecoin
$0.00242
$0.00319
$0.00413
32%
70%
Ether
$442.18
$525
$901
19%
104%
EOS
$8.01
$10.33
$27.70
29%
246%
IOTA
$0.99
$0.998
$1.71
1%
73%
Litecoin
$80.75
$83
$153
3%
90%
Monero
$128.82
$131
$213
2%
66%
NEO
$30.34
$34.00
$61.71
12%
103%
Ripple
$0.471
$0.52
$0.94
10%
100%
Stellar Lumens
$0.191
$0.243
$0.403
27%
111%
TRON
$0.039
$0.120
$0.173
207%
342%
June 2018
Cryptocurrency average price predictions (USD)
Cryptocurrency
Current price per unit (as of 30 May 2018) (USD)
Price prediction on 1 July 2018 (USD)
Price prediction on Dec. 31, 2018 (USD)
% change to 1 July 2018
% change to Dec. 31, 2018
Bitcoin
$7,516.64
$8,487
$14,638
12.91%
95%
Bitcoin Cash
$1,017.91
$1,058
$1,752
3.95%
72%
Cardano
$0.207
$0.208
$0.508
0.49%
145%
Ether
$572.88
$659.00
$1,045.44
15.03%
82%
EOS
$12.49
$18.00
$38.25
44.12%
206%
IOTA
$1.62
$1.49
$2.48
-8.02%
53%
Litecoin
$121.04
$130.17
$149.00
7.54%
23%
Monero
$158.89
$148.25
$164.50
-6.70%
4%
NEO
$52.93
$60.00
$105.00
13.36%
98%
Ripple
$0.621
$0.635
$0.753
2.25%
21%
Stellar Lumens
$0.293
$0.310
$0.417
5.79%
42%
Tron
$0.065
$0.090
$0.160
38.58%
146%
VeChain
$3.500
$4.500
$8.000
28.57%
129%
May 2018
Cryptocurrency average price predictions (USD)
Cryptocurrency
Current price per unit (as of 26 April 2018) (USD)
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Hi hi there
I am new about cryptocurrancy I have borough XRP about $600 five month ago so how do you think this company? Would you please give me some Best ICO,but I know the risk. Is Elephant360 is legitimate ICO?
I would be great full when you reply me this questions.
Best Regards
Smriti
Thanks for getting in touch with finder. I hope all is well with you. :)
I understand that you are new to cryptocurrency. In this case, it would be a good idea to read as much information as possible regarding this type of investment. Our cryptocurrency main page is a great place to start your research.
If you want to know more about Ripple or XRP, please go to this page.
We currently don’t have a review page about Elephant 360. As this might be the case, it would be helpful to read the following articles about crypto scams:
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Hi hi there
I am new about cryptocurrancy I have borough XRP about $600 five month ago so how do you think this company? Would you please give me some Best ICO,but I know the risk. Is Elephant360 is legitimate ICO?
I would be great full when you reply me this questions.
Best Regards
Smriti
Hi Smriti,
Thanks for getting in touch with finder. I hope all is well with you. :)
I understand that you are new to cryptocurrency. In this case, it would be a good idea to read as much information as possible regarding this type of investment. Our cryptocurrency main page is a great place to start your research.
If you want to know more about Ripple or XRP, please go to this page.
We currently don’t have a review page about Elephant 360. As this might be the case, it would be helpful to read the following articles about crypto scams:
How to spot and avoid a bitcoin scam
Different red flags appear as cryptocurrency scammers get savvier
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua