Ethereum peaks at $1220 on some exchanges
Just as it looked like Bitcoin had returned to its full-on bull market as it neared $17,000, the pendulum has once again swung lower as a stronger Dollar to open the week put a number of cryptocurrencies under pressure in their /USD capacity. Ripple was also under pressure as it has eased significantly off its highs above $3. A lack of fresh news seems to be hurting Bitcoin and speculation that it could see its major monopoly on cryptocurrency markets reduced further this year is seeing some major inflows into Ethereum, which has now well and truly cracked the $1000 mark. Fears over a crackdown in South Korea have also damaged sentiment quite severely. Having been embraced by a number of major organizations (among them the UN), ETH is younger and Bitcoin, with an identifiable team who are working to plug some of the weaknesses seen in Bitcoin. This weakness in Bitcoin are being actively worked on, and so investors could potentially be underestimating some of the structural improvements in the original blockchain.
Blockchain still the hottest thing on the planet
MState, a startup accelerator for Blockchain based technology is being backed by major companies like IBM according to a release in Bloomberg. Led by Co-founder Rob Bailey, the company is looking to help get start-ups up and running more quickly to exploit the hot money which is desperate to invest in the burgeoning technology. In his interview, Mr. Bailey identified his belief that enterprise-blockchain is going to have a big impact on 2018,
"There's a massive opportunity in Fortune 500 companies. They don't know which companies to work with… In 2018, we will see a growing number of enterprise blockchain use cases go mainstream from healthcare applications to government, supply chain and retail to the real estate and transportation industries,"
Cryptocurrencies might be under pressure at the moment, but it will take an enormous correction to make a dent in 2017’s progress. Even if 2018 is to be a very down year as risks from regulators emerge, cryptocurrency gains are so vast compared to gains from investing in fiat currency that market sentiment may still be able to endure any shocks. It is important for the market that Bitcoin’s failings are addressed, as well as the necessary investment made in exchanges as a number, have been forced to close their doors to new customers which does little to instill investors with confidence.