In December 2017, the value of Bitcoin stood at its all-time high: $19,511. It has rained since then - it now trades just above $3,500 - but the truth is that the Bitcoin crash is just the tip of the iceberg: cryptocurrencies have suffered an evident setback now, thanks to their extreme volatility and the threats of regulation by States and international economic bodies.
All this has led to a climate of uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrencies and the technology on which they are based, the blockchain, despite the enthusiasm that blockchain-based encryption has aroused in recent times.
CEO of the Blockchain Institute & Technology believes that the key will lie in the application of blockchain in day-to-day life: "In 2021, we will see the first real implementations and use cases, after what has been the hype of the ICO phenomenon, where there have been many speculative projects - and other very positive ones - and in 2021 we will not see this phenomenon so much because it is going to be regulated."
"We have gone from ICOs to STOs and in 2021 there will be fewer pompoms, but it is true that the projects that have made money with this will start to launch things applied to real life," he explains.
Mas speaks of the arrival of blockchain 2.0 and 3.0, something that will "revolutionize" the practical application of cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrencies are already being promoted by the institutions and governments themselves, which ultimately implies a greater adoption in payment systems in the future.
And although a lot of resistance to cryptocurrencies is to be expected, they can become the money of the internet. If you want to know more about cryptos visit the Black Hat Network
Let's find out what the outlook for 2021 is for the main cryptocurrencies on the market.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin has lost more than 80% of its value. Despite reaching an all-time high ($19,511) a year ago, the popular cryptocurrency has stagnated and plummeted in the face of regulatory threats and its high volatility.
And the immediate future doesn't look set to change.
there is going to be prolonged stagnation in the price. Whenever there is an overheating phase, there is a period of calm, of stagnation.
This opinion, which is not intended to be an accurate prediction of the future of Bitcoin, according to Preukschat, is based on the perception of "several cryptocurrency experts", whom he quotes to explain that the value of Bitcoin will not approach the one it reached in the near future.
Something in which agrees: "To have different results, different things have to happen. And, at the moment, nothing different is going to happen. The trend will remain the same or continue to fall."
"Everyone is clear that cryptocurrencies are here to stay," he explains, while pointing out that "that is why Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market have been rising for 10 years, regardless of the occasional corrections that may occur".
However, in the medium term, "the expectation is that there will again be an upward correction, substantially higher than the current one", as Preukschat points out, so it is not out of the question that in two or three years' time it will exceed those 19,511 dollars.
In this sense, despite the fact that it could be perceived as a threat, a hypothetical regulation of Bitcoin would serve precisely to maintain Bitcoin as the main cryptocurrency of the future.
"The financial system is already adopting cryptocurrencies and once there is clearer regulation, everyone will adopt them," Mas explains.
He is convinced that Bitcoin will benefit from a future regulatory framework and that, in parallel, it will continue to attract capital, even though its "volatility affects its day-to-day implementation, but for investors, it will remain attractive."
Moreover, he considers that the fall of Bitcoin is not so serious: "There was hype, but Bitcoin has not gone down, it has simply adjusted its prices. But looking at its evolution since 10 years ago, it has not gone down."
Hence his confidence that cryptocurrencies - and "today Bitcoin is the main one" - will rebound in the near future.
Still, one of the most obvious risks for Bitcoin, as for all cryptocurrencies, is that they maintain their level of security, as Preukschat points out. "Just because Bitcoin couldn't be hacked, doesn't mean it can't be hacked in the future."
Ethereum
Ethereum has emerged in 2018 as one of the most solid alternatives to Bitcoin. In fact, its main attraction is that the arrival of its new protocol.
"Now comes the big hard fork [a completely new blockchain protocol] that is called Constantinople. They have already been delaying the release of this hard fork for quite some time, which has generated a lot of doubts and a lot of expectations."
"Theoretically it will be released this January. When a company implements a big software and has to change everything, usually things always happen until it's adjusted and everything goes well."
"We'll see if this implementation goes well, which could improve scalability and cost issues for assembling pre-built applications on the Ethereum base; or, if it goes wrong or there are delays, it could have a direct impact on the price."
Ripple
Despite the popularity of Bitcoin, Ripple is the first cryptocurrency in history, having been put into circulation five years earlier, in 2004. However, it is not strictly a blockchain-based currency, because it is centralized.
This implies that only a small group controls Ripple and, paradoxically, it is precisely this lack of decentralization that makes it more attractive to entities and states.
It is already being used by banks to make their transactions more efficient.
Therefore, whether society likes it or not, Ripple is being used by some important players and, this could lead to a better fit than other cryptocurrencies within future regulatory frameworks.
It seems that its adoption is being boosted and, looking ahead to 2019, it could be an interesting value.
Litecoin
Litecoin is another of the cryptocurrencies with the largest presence in the world. However, by acting as a testbed for Bitcoin, it is overly dependent on Bitcoin when it comes to fluctuating.
Therefore, what happens with Bitcoin in 2019 will be the best reference for what may happen with Litecoin.
In this case, sticking to conservative predictions for the popular cryptocurrency, we can expect an uneventful year for Litecoin.
Crypto lover