Cryptocurrency is a melting pot of cultures, a global display of merits and a search to establish system by the people and for the people. It is with this view I like to share where I think the market is heading in 2019. 2018 was a great year for laying out the cryptocurrency infrastructure. For the first time, I have a way of buying Bitcoin legitimately directly from my bank account without fear that my bank account would be block. That was not possible before and given that I have been waiting for the Coinbase launch that never came, I am extremely happy that there are now many alternatives. Pleasing to the eyes is the number of merchants accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency as a form of payment for goods and services. Many governments around the world are now more positive towards cryptocurrency with several leading the way with regard to adoption. Ironically, the only brakes on the market has been the United States of America and their regulatory body giving approval to several cryptocurrency products. I believe this is an important part of meaningful price discovery in the market, with a stamp of approval from the SEC and CFTC it would open the door to other smaller markets and financial players who would now put capital to work. This approval would see more financial players and muscles come to the market as the regulatory clarity would smooth the flow of capital.
I think one of the big things people are missing with this market is the silent crowd that isn't vocal on social media, this week alone I had two young doctors speak with me about Bitcoin. These are folks who are fresh from medical school, these are folks looking to secure their financial future. These are the kind of people that are willing to allocate their hard earn money towards investing within the space. I had the opportunity of interacting with a few know-it folks and the talk has been about Bitcoin, these are what I would call the future leaders, the thought leaders and thinkers. One of the things that have surprise me a lot is the fact that the fall in prices haven't turn people away. I have even tried to FUD some of them away, I really don't like to be the person people point fingers at when things aren't going their way but as I have been told people are open to NEW ideas.
So you may ask, why 10 dollars Steem and 37K price tag for Bitcoin? My answer to these question is simple---> regulatory clarity and cryptocurrency markets doing what it does best. There are some huge players and with amazing cryptocurrency products that would provide liquidity and better price discovery. These factors couples with the retail traders doing what retail traders have been doing for the last 10 years would galvanize lots of eye openers. I also believe the geo-political climate is also ripe for Bitcoin, we have lots of nations economically blowing up and the debt driven model is spilling over. This is certainly one area I hate but I can see more people trying to financially secure themselves and family. So you may ask how Steem fits into all of this, and this is my answer. Steem is the global bus where everyone is invited without much techy know-how or capital investment needed. Once folks realize the potential of Steem and the many crypto friendly products it is offering, the general enthusiasm would spur price discovery in the Steem ecosystem. Steem only struggle is how stakeholders react and how well they adapt to the changing environment and enthusiasm and what model stakeholders push forward.
There lots more than prices in 2019, we would see many other application and innovation of blockchain technology, one of the area would be in Health and Medicine. This is an area I am very much interested and involve, its a matter of how good are the coders and what tools they can provide to users and researchers. This part of the ecosystem would be 'hardcore' and results driven, probably even catching a few regulatory eyes as the 'Bioethicist' voice their concern. Probably the best advice I can give anyone looking to dive deeper into cryptocurrency, LEARN TO CODE and follow your passion in projects you think you can make a difference. The future would be DECENTRALIZED, we are only just getting started as we explore whats really possible....