The great depression phase seems to be over, at least from my own standpoint. The people I know that invested in crypto in December 2017 are out of the game completely and have lost faith in this industry a few months ago. That is completely fine because they didn't understand it in the first place.
Today's green signals don't mean much but they are a clear indicator that another accumulation phase has begun. If it lasts long enough it could trigger the next bull run and if it doesn't, well we could continue going downwards. All of this shouldn't bother you if you are looking at the bigger picture and see where crypto is headed. This video posted by Western Union reminded me that we are still struggling to get past the adoption phase.
Whether you like it or not, Ripple (XRP) will lead the next wave of investors into the crypto space. You may think that it is too centralized and even call it a crypto abomination but Ripple is doing all the right things. Their marketing campaign is obviously bringing results with all the recent onboarding announcements and test projects with big names like Western Union and others. The reality is that Ripple can transfer value from one side of the globe to another in a blink of an eye, and this is a technology that is needed so badly within our society.
During Q1 of 2019, we should see institutional investments coming in, this should also be followed with another wave of retail investors. If you follow the patterns, another price drop should come after that. This is where we should be making gains and getting ready for another accumulation phase. After these cycles get completed crypto should stabilize and see a slow but steady growth over the next few years. That is why I think the time to invest is now if you want to make gains but also stay in the game for the long run.
This should definitely not be taken as investment advice. The reason I'm writing this is because I have the same feeling in my gut as I had in October 2017 before the rally began. Also, the sentiment in the community is the complete opposite as it was during the bull run. HODL memes were all over the place and I was too blind to see that there is no better indicator that we reached the top. Now, all I see is people crying about prices and saying that crypto has no way out of this mess. Stay strong my fellow Steemians! The emotional rollercoaster we endured for so long is at the summit of a huge hill. Enjoy the ride!