Bitcoin Cash Price Prediction
Making predictions in the cryptocurrency market is an easy way to look foolish. Things rise and fall with such wild swings that it’s virtually a guessing game half the time because so many unexpected things can happen. That being said, that doesn’t necessarily apply for long-term predictions. If you’re high on cryptocurrencies as a powerful tool of the future, then it’s easier to make a more informed Bitcoin Cash price prediction. It’s also easier to project whether or not this upstart player in the market will be able to derail some of Bitcoin’s (BTC) success. Those looking to buy BCH through a BCH exchange, however, are better off looking elsewhere. While an updated Bitcoin Cash block could be interesting down the road, its falling cryptocurrency market cap alongside its value makes it too risky in my opinion.
For me, I don’t see a lot of potential in the Bitcoin Cash futures. I believe that there’s very little chance that the coin surpasses $500.00 this year, and may even top out closer to $450.00 or lower. While that’s a not a bad gain over four months, there are better and more stable investments that will yield higher returns, while other cryptocurrencies that I am higher on—like Ripple (XRP) and especially Ethereum (ETH)—are better options in the cryptocurrency market.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is one of the newest cryptocurrencies out there, having recently split off from Bitcoin and amassing the third-highest market cap in the cryptocurrency market. Oh, wait, did I say third? That was yesterday. Today, it’s fallen to fourth after seeing radical swings from over $400.00 to around $200.00, back up to $400.00 before falling to $323.87 as of the writing of this piece.
The point I’m trying to illustrate here is that BCH is nuts right now. It’s seeing a ton of action in a market that has already been on fire this year, and not always for the better.
I don’t think that BCH is a good choice, overall. Firstly, as we saw when Ethereum Classic (ETC) pulled away from ETH, aside from the scramble that resulted in the immediate aftermath, the two cryptocurrencies largely mirrored each other in terms of growth and losses. If that’s anything to go off of, it means that BCH is likely to follow BTC at least for the next little while. Until it’s able to differentiate itself from its older sibling, there’s really no reason why it should gain on Bitcoin or other, more established cryptocurrencies.
How Ethereum Prices Will React to Bitcoin Fork
Right now, the action we’re seeing is hype and excitement that will die down sooner rather than later, and then the cryptocurrency will taper off. There’s nothing that makes BCH special in my eyes, and until it can create some separation from other currencies, investors might want to look at more solid options like Ripple and ETH, both of which have interesting and novel approaches to the market that could set them apart and make them top earners among cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrency Market Cap (billions)
Bitcoin (BTC) $46.78
Ethereum (ETH) $21.06
Ripple (XRP) $6.69
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $5.34
The Bitcoin Cash block is supposed to be something that will separate this cryptocurrency from the umpteen others on the market, but until it can prove that its usage of the tech is superior to competitors, I’m not sold on the new cryptocurrency.
BCH Price Predictions and Bitcoin Cash Futures
While I definitely think that BCH is a bad choice right now, that doesn’t mean it has no chance of one day becoming a valuable asset. The Bitcoin cash price prediction looks gloomy right now, but it’s not hopeless.
During the Bitcoin hard fork, after all, the BCH backers did have some valid reasons for wanting to split off from BTC. One of the major reasons that BCH came about was due to the backers’ issues with the speed of transactions and size of the blocks, both of which could play a big role in the development of BCH should the Bitcoin Cash block technology surpass BTC.
And that’s the only way I see BCH becoming a heavy hitter long-term. And it’s also the only way that I see BCH having a profound effect on BTC prices moving forward. That potential tech innovation could change the Bitcoin Cash price forecast.
Obviously, the split will hurt BTC in the immediate aftermath, but there’s not a whole lot that BCH offers right now that will harm BTC. And while many will feel threatened by BCH while hype and excitement surrounds the cryptocurrency, there’s no reason for Bitcoin supporters to fear BCH long-term, at least not yet.
Not to mention that Coinbase, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency exchange, won’t accept BCH. That will obviously alienate a huge portion of those looking to invest in BCH.
Coinbase has a superior position to other exchanges on the market due to its size. After all, there are so many exchanges out there in an industry that is notorious for hacks and fly-by-night operations that you’re often better off sticking to the better, more reputable platforms.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that the Coinbase exchange is foolproof—after all, the Mt. Gox hack took place when Mt. Gox was a massively important exchange—but it’s definitely an exchange where you want your cryptocurrency of choice to be listed so it can receive maximum trade volume.
It’s just another reason that I don’t see BCH overtaking any of the major players in the cryptocurrency market, even if there is a chance for the Bitcoin Cash futures to grow, I still view it as a sub-par option compared to competitors.
Cryptocurrency Market Cap
Now that we’ve sorted out the Bitcoin Cash price prediction and the Bitcoin Cash futures, let’s broaden our view to the cryptocurrency market as a whole and examine options that I think could be great investments, and certainly better than BCH.
Basically, the three cryptocurrencies that currently sit above BCH are all superior investments, at least in term of a long-term view.
The third-highest cryptocurrency by market cap is Ripple, with $6.69 billion. It was briefly surpassed by BCH, which tallied a market cap over $7.0 billion yesterday, but that quickly sorted itself out. Again, it’s that type of vulnerability that has me concerned about the Bitcoin Cash price forecast.
Ripple Price Prediction 2018: Should You Invest Amid Bitcoin Volatility
Ripple is an interesting cryptocurrency choice in that, unlike ETH and BTC, it’s not nearly as ideologically driven. The reason that the two biggest cryptocurrencies split is that many people who invest in these coins not only see them as ways to make money but also as tools to help shape the future of currency. These people can be hardheaded and even harder to deal with, so having a cryptocurrency that doesn’t have that sort of drag on it is great.
Ripple is being marketed more as a service for international payments instead of more grandiose claims like trying to make fiat currency obsolete.
It’s also worth noting that XRP has a had a huge 2017. The Ripple price soared by nearly 4000% in the first half of the year. It’s a penny stock, so these sorts of jumps are not unheard of, but still, that’s a great payday for early investors, and I believe that the cryptocurrency still has room to run. (Source: “It’s not bitcoin or ethereum: This digital currency rose 3,977% in the first half of 2017,” CNBC, July 21, 2017.)
Another cryptocurrency that I mentioned earlier that I believe will be a better performer than BCH—and maybe even top Bitcoin in market cap one day—is Ethereum.
The reason I’m so high on Ethereum is that the company has been cooking up a plan to take the industry by storm.
ETH is looking to change the way that mining is handled from a proof-of-work system to a proof-of-stake system. This will dramatically alter the way mining happens on the cryptocurrency, and many believe that the new system will be a superior scheme to the current mining paradigm.
ETH has also undergone huge surges this year and looks poised for a big 2018 as well. Of course, Ethereum is also susceptible to the volatility of the cryptocurrency market, falling from over $400.00 at one point to its current price of $224.63, but it’s not like BTC or virtually every other major cryptocurrency hasn’t been through those kinds of setbacks.
With a cryptoccurency market cap of over $21.0 billion, Ethereum is a strong rival of BTC and the most likely cryptocurrency to dethrone Bitcoin.
And the final cryptocurrency that I believe is superior compared to BCH is the original Bitcoin.
BTC is probably going to hit $4000.00 within the next year, making it one of the more solid choices on this list alongside impressive growth.
And as explained earlier, there’s really no reason at present to switch over from BTC to BCH. After all, one has a long history of growth and demonstrable strength, while the other has proved nothing other than that it could be extremely volatile and unpredictable.
For me, the Bitcoin Cash price prediction simply doesn’t measure up to the potential contained within these aforementioned cryptocurrencies.