Foreign exchange (forex) accounts for the world’s largest financial market. In fact, it was valued at $6.6 trillion (£5.3 trillion) last year, with London reigning as the largest forex market with a 43% share.

Here are some things that you need to know before making your very first trade:

Learn the basics

Forex, or the world of finance in general, can be very intimidating for the average person. The first step to breaking that barrier is to learn the fundamental aspects as well as common forex trading terms. Here are a few key terms that should be in your vocabulary:

• Currency pairs - Forex is always traded in a pair of currencies, which represents the value of one against another. For example, GBP and USD is represented by GBP/USD or vice versa.
• Base – The first currency in a pair. For example, GBP in a GBP/USD pairing.
• Quote – The second currency in a pair. For example, USD in a GBP/USD pairing.
• Exchange rate - The amount of quote currency needed to buy 1 unit of the base currency. For example, GBP/USD = 1.2252.
• Bid - The price at which you’re willing to buy the currency pair.
• Ask - The price at which you’re willing to sell the currency pair.
• Pip - The smallest price changes given an exchange rate.
• Spread - The difference in pips between the Bid/Ask prices.
• Leverage - A trader’s borrowed capital from a broker’s credit. This allows traders to fund their trade without having to pay the full value upfront.

Understand the factors that affect forex

Knowing the right words is only the first step. You’ll need to have a working understanding of what moves currencies in the first place. This allows you to make an educated trade and minimise the risk of incurring any losses. These are some of the most important factors that increase trading risk:

• Interest rate - Rising interest rates generally correspond to a stronger exchange rate, while falling interest rates can result in a depreciation in currency value.
• Country - Take note of the country’s economic stability, especially for developing or third world nations.
• Counterparty - It refers to the broker or trading platform used which come with their own risks.
• Leverage - The more leverage you acquire could potentially lead to a bigger loss.
• Transaction - Communication or confirmation errors that can lead to a loss. For instance, significant time difference between markets leave plenty of room for market fluctuations, which can impact the trade made.
• Politics and Economy - Both have significant impacts on a country’s performance in the forex market. For example, the expected 25% downfall in the economy of the UK during Q2 will likely lead to a weaker performance of the GBP against other currencies.
• Liquidity - The high liquidity of the forex market means the demand and supply can vary wildly, which can affect market prices.

Choose a reliable forex broker and trading platform

To start trading, you need to find a reliable broker and the right trading platform. A broker is an individual or a firm that facilitates your trade. You buy or sell through a broker, who also gives you the leverage needed. When choosing a broker, find out whether they are regulated by The Financial Conduct Authority. See if they also offer a trial period so you can sample their services before committing to a certain brokerage firm.

A trading platform, on the other hand, is the software that allows you to access and trade in the forex market. Most offer demo accounts, which enable you to experiment and practice trading under real market conditions. Understand that trading forex is not without risk. However, knowing basic information, such as industry terms, allow every kind of trader to make more favourable decisions.

Consumer knowledge about digital currencies is limited and cash is still king. But many people still hold a positive view about the future of cryptocurrency and are curious about its possibilities.

The seventh ING International Survey on new technologies found that 79% of UK respondents knew at least a little about cryptocurrency (identifying at least one out of five true or false statements correctly). Among this group, opinions are divided as a third (32%) had high expectations for it, just ahead of the 28% with low expectations.

A fifth of this group (21%) agree that crypto is the future of online spending, behind the European average of a third (32%). An equal proportion (21%) say they are open to receiving new cryptocurrency offerings from brands and bodies they are familiar with, agreeing that banks should offer current accounts in crypto.

This outlook comes despite wide levels of confusion about how cryptocurrencies actually work. Although 69% of people understood that crypto is a form of digital currency, an equal number (68%) either incorrectly thought that it is controlled by a central body or said they did not know.

Jessica Exton, Behavioural Scientist, ING, said: “People aren’t clamouring to understand the details of how cryptocurrencies work, or even what they are. But whether we would pick it up if it proved useful remains open to debate. We see country some differences in how people are learning about cryptocurrencies and while smaller groups in the UK agree cryptocurrencies are the future of spending online, relatively few of us are actively sourcing information about them, such as through searching online. More knowledge doesn’t always lead to higher expectations of the future relevance of cryptocurrencies through, indicating many factors are at play. While small groups are enthusiastic about their future use of cryptocurrencies, every-day relevance and demonstrated benefits will be key to turning the crypto curiosity our research reveals, into a true money revolution.”

The survey’s findings, which show a curiosity about cryptocurrencies but also a tendency to trust the familiar, suggest that a digital currency hybrid - a mix of new forms of currency with the familiar elements of regulation, practices and providers we know – could be one way to broaden the everyday use of this type of currency.

Teunis Brosens, Lead Economist for Digital Finance and Regulation, ING, said: “If cryptocurrencies are to become mainstream, technical improvements are needed. But to gain trust and acceptance beyond a core group of enthusiasts, affiliation with existing well-known brands would help. In short, cryptocurrency would need to present itself to potential users from within the existing financial framework, instead of placing itself outside.”

Facebook Libra – the transitional tool?

This is illustrated through Facebook’s Libra. While its initial structure does not make it a cryptocurrency, plans to move towards decentralised governance in 2025 mean that it may act as a transitional mechanism.

Cash is still king

Despite a relatively favourable view of cryptocurrency among many consumers, our survey found that they are not yet ready to embrace it fully. Only a fifth (20%) of UK respondents would prefer it if cash no longer existed. One-in-five (19%) of those with some knowledge of cryptocurrency responded positively about both their anticipated use of it simultaneously with their use of cash.

This suggests that cash may continue to play a significant role if and when cryptocurrency is adopted on a wider scale. Diversification and choice will be key, depending on availability and preference.

ING's seventh International Survey on new technologies is based on approximately 15,000 respondents in 15 countries, including over 1000 from the UK.

*These results are based on a sample of respondents that correctly answered at least one of five true or false statements about cryptocurrency (79% of total sample).

Last week, the payments firm announced it would be retreating from the 28-strong alliance that had promised to back Facebook’s launch of the Libra, and its digital wallet, Calibra. PayPal has not explained why it had made the decision.

Perhaps its because regulators in Europe, specifically France and Germany have vowed to block the digital currency, perhaps it’s because it has little confidence in the efficacy of the Libra.

According to The Block, a PayPal spokesperson said PayPal “made the decision to forgo further participation," but remains supportive of Libra's goals and will continue to explore how the two firms can work together moving forward.

"We remain supportive of Libra’s aspirations and look forward to continued dialogue on ways to work together in the future…Facebook has been a longstanding and valued strategic partner to PayPal, and we will continue to partner with and support Facebook in various capacities…” reads the statement.

In response, spokespeople for the Libra Association, made up of 28 companies and non-profits, including Visa, Uber and Mercy Corps, said it understands the difficulties ahead and reconfiguring the financial system may be hard but that it is committed to achieving said goal.

However, as it stands, Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe have also been reported as hesitant to sign official commitments to the Libra.

The price per coin has so far been strong this year as traders and investors cheered the likes of Facebook and Apple showing interest in bitcoin, cryptocurrency and bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology. This weekend's drop was attributed to a lacklustre debut for the highly-anticipated Bakkt bitcoin and its cryptocurrency investment platform at the beginning of the week.

According to Forbes, the drop has caused panic among traders and investors who have been anticipated a drastic change for some months now. For the time being bullish Bitcoin traders are advising to buy as the markets look confused as ever, and there will be some results on the horizon. In addition, chief investment officer of Morgan Creek Capital, a US bitcoin and cryptocurrency investment company, suggests "buying the dip," clarifying that daily change sin the value of Bitcoin are rarely significant and should be ignored.

Daniele Mensi, CEO of Nexthash, the operating group of digital exchange platform Nexinter, commented on the price drop: "The volatility of cryptocurrencies is what makes them excellent conduits of growth for traders, investors, and growing businesses. What is important to remember is that Bitcoin is still up around 115% this year, so its short terms peaks and troughs are necessary to facilitate longer-term growth across the currency. It is important for new traders and investors to do their due diligence on each currency that they invest into to ensure that it is the right route for them, but institutional investors and high-growth companies will continue to look crypto and digital trading to facilitate international, fluid growth." 

By now, cryptocurrencies acquired an army of investors and true believers. It is worthy of note that regardless of the market conditions, the top 3 cryptocurrencies remain the unchangeable leaders. What makes Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP so valuable?

Bitcoin

Created in 2009, Bitcoin is the first peer-to-peer digital currency, which the world has ever seen. Being a father of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin has the first-mover advantage, it can’t lose. Regardless of 2,000 altcoins available on the market, investors do not stop to purchase Bitcoin, keeping it at the top of the list.

Why Bitcoin is so much-in-demand?

• Low supply. There are only 21 million bitcoins that will ever exist in total, and 17,8 million have already been mined. Due to the human factor, people lose access to the crypto wallets reducing the amount of bitcoin in circulation. About 4 million coins are more likely to be lost forever. Demand will increase to own at least a fraction of bitcoin pushing the value up and the maximum supply will more likely decrease.
• High usability and industry standard. Bitcoin is available and commercially adopted pretty much everywhere in the world. Bitcoin ATMs, retailers, and various businesses accepting bitcoin as a payment amount more than 15 thousand venues as of today that is 1,000% rise in comparison with 1,270 venues in December 2013. By industry standard, it is entailed the fact that any crypto-related project, app, or business will first start working with/accepting bitcoin and only then add other altcoins.
• Ability to profit on the hot investment. Let’s keep it real, cryptocurrencies are volatile and by buying/selling them at the right moment investors can capitalize greatly on it. Why bitcoin? With the dominance of 66.2%, Bitcoin is a settler of crypto market direction. So why bet on altcoins if Bitcoin is 100% win.

Ethereum

Ethereum’s road was rough throughout 2018 having lost 85% of its value. Despite this fact and despite the competition from other smart-contract based altcoins like NEO and EOS, Ethereum remains the second-largest cryptocurrency.

• Father of smart contracts. Ethereum is a major blockchain for smart contracts, DApps, and more than 80% of ICOs developed on its blockchain. Enterprise Ethereum Alliance has made partnerships with big-name companies like Microsoft, JP Morgan, Intel, and others, which are looking for Ethereum blockchain incorporation into their business structures. With such strong support, it’s unlikely for Ethereum to lose its leading position in a short-term horizon.
• Key updates of Ethereum technology. One of the most significant Ethereum hard forks called Constantinople has already happened in February 2019 though with a delay improved functionality, speed, transaction costs, miner issues of the network. According to its roadmap, instead of one large update, there will be a series of updates aiming to make Ethereum more scalable, efficient, and faster scheduled for 2019 and the years to come.

XRP

XRP rounds out the top 3 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. XRP is one of the cheapest and fastest coins available today. Despite accusations from cryptocurrency enthusiast concerning its centralized character, XRP entrenches oneself in the top and has never claimed to be decentralized one.

Why is XRP at the forefront?

1,500 transactions per second is an impressive result, especially in comparison with the scalability of other cryptocurrencies or even with common money transfer systems, used by the banks. Upon that the cost of the instant transaction regardless of destination point is over 50% cut down. Initially, Ripple was focused on financial institutions and banks with prospects to become the major payment system. Therefore, not cryptocurrencies, but dominated transfer systems like SWIFT and VISA are its main rivals. Working on the improving transaction speed, the XRP development team reached the unparalleled scalability of 50,000 transactions per second outperforming VISA capacity twofold.

Multiple banks and credit card companies are already collaborating with Ripple, hundreds of other bank institutions are looking for a partnership with it. Backed by the financial sector and constant increase of the user number, XRP will strengthen the position in the crypto market.

The comments come ahead of the recent TV debate between Boris Johnson and his rivals to be the next leader of the Conservative party and British Prime Minister.

Mr Johnson has been publicly open about a no-deal Brexit, which has weighed heavily on the pound.

The deVere CEO’s observation also comes at a time as Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, hit a 13-month price high on Sunday above $9,300, with predictions of the next crypto bull run making headlines.  Bitcoin prices have soared more than 200 per cent over the last several months.

Mr Green comments: “It looks almost certain that Boris Johnson will be Britain’s next Prime Minister.  His vow to leave the EU in October — deal or no-deal — has prompted a decline in the value of the pound.  

“Sterling has lost almost 5% of its value against the US dollar since the start of May.  Similarly, it continues six straight weeks of falls against the euro.

“As Mr Johnson’s campaign moves up a gear – as it moves into the next phase to win over the party’s grassroots – we can expect him to also up his hard Brexit rhetoric and this will likely drive sterling even lower.”

He continues: “We are already seeing that UK and international investors in UK assets are responding to the Brexit-fuelled uncertainties by considering removing their wealth from the UK.

“One such way that many are looking to diversify their portfolios and hedge against legitimate risks posed by Brexit is by investing in crypto assets, such as Bitcoin.

“Crypto assets are often used around the world as alternatives to mitigate geopolitical threats to investment portfolios.”

He goes on to add: “The no-deal Brexit issue might be the catalyst for new investors in this way, but they are likely, too, to be aware that many established indicators and analysts are pointing towards a currently new crypto bull run. 

“As such, they might think this is now the time to jump into cryptocurrencies - which are almost universally regarded as the future of money.”

In May this year, deVere carried out a global survey that found that more than two-thirds of HNWs - classified in this context as having more than £1m (or equivalent) in investable assets - will be invested in cryptocurrencies in the next three years.

The poll found that 68% of participants are now already invested in or will make investments in cryptocurrencies before the end of 2022.

Of the survey’s findings, Nigel Green commented at the time: “Crypto is to money what Amazon was to retail.  Those surveyed clearly will not want to be the last one on the boat.”

The deVere CEO concludes: “As Boris and Brexit continue to dominate the agenda, Bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency sector could experience a boost as investors seek to protect – and build – their wealth by hedging against the geopolitical risks they pose.”

(Source: deVere Group)

Constant turmoil surrounding Brexit, Trump and populist movements across the world make for a very volatile trading landscape.

Here are Samuel Leach’s top trends and events that will cause currency fluctuations in 2019.

Brexit

No Deal 

Parliament is saying that there’s no chance of a no-deal Brexit; however, May's deal has little hope of being passed in parliament.

This is causing huge uncertainty in the market and we could see GBP fall against its pairs along with weakness in FTSE. Evidence to the current uncertainty has been strengthened by the government emergency testing at Dover. A pile-up of lorries would be expected at customs if no deal is the outcome. There are stocks that could benefit from a weak pound due to most of its income coming from exports.

Deal

Although this is increasingly unlikely, if a deal is passed, I would expect the pound to strengthen against its pairs due to more certainty in the market. All indices have been in a bear market in the final quarter of 2018, so predicting the FTSE to go against the trend of its peers is unlikely. If we see other indices turn bullish there is no doubt that FTSE will follow.

Second Referendum

May reiterates that under no circumstance is this an option, however, it must be contemplated. If this does occur, a pop in GBP will be expected in the short term, and only when a result is concluded would a long-term trend be evaluated. If the public voted to leave again, we could see GBP/USD back to its low of 1.1/1.2. On the other hand, if the UK were to stay in the EU, there is no reason GBP/USD won't return to its pre-referendum price of 1.4.

If China does start to go into a recession as many expect, this is likely to travel around the world and other economies will follow.

US/China Trade relations

The US Dollar has been strong throughout 2018, however during the last few months of the year, we saw it starting to weaken. Bad trade relations have started to put pressure on both economies, with tariffs of up to 40% on exports like Soybeans from some US exporters, which has led to farmers becoming reliant on a $12billion bailout.

Even Apple has blamed its recent slowdown in iPhone sales on a weak Chinese economy. If China does start to go into a recession as many expect, this is likely to travel around the world and other economies will follow. China’s central bank has even cut the amount of cash it requires banks to hold in reserve for the 5th time in a year which has freed up $116biliion in cash for lending.

How this effects the dollar against the Yuan depends on which economy has the upper hand if more tariffs are implemented once the trade deal deadline passes. Trump has already increased import tax of $200billion on Chinese imports and is threatening with another $300billion, which would be crippling for the Chinese economy. In this case, I would expect to see the Yuan fall.

The Chinese government has made a statement saying it won't let the Yuan sustainably fall below 7 against the dollar. Many analysts suggest that the government has plenty of ways of stopping the Yuan from depreciating, and as The People’s Bank of China has successfully intervened in the past, there is no reason for them not to do it again if things were to worsen.

We should all be watching US interest rate hikes very closely over the next year.

Emerging economies to watch

Many analysts believe Indonesia is expected to be a leader in the emerging market within 2019. The country has low inflation compared to other emerging markets with high stability. Most analysts don’t see this trend slowing down in the region. If the US becomes more dovish with its rate hikes, this is expected to be beneficial to emerging markets and give a boost to emerging economies.

The area experienced a slight slowdown towards the end of 2018, which prompted the Bank of Indonesia to raise interest rates by 125 basis points since May and intervene in both the currency and bond market in the attempt to curb any losses. However, this economy is in a good place to benefit from any bounce in global economies.

US Interest rates

We should all be watching US interest rate hikes very closely over the next year, as this has a strong correlation to all US indices and the dollar index. The Fed is looking to be more dovish on its interest rates, however, two hikes are expected in 2019.

2019 will be characterised by uncertainty, and several geopolitical events will impact the foreign exchange markets. As with every form of trading, keeping on top of political events will be key for FX traders; the above are particular areas to stay on top of.

Ethereum, currently the second largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, will experience a “monumental, defining global breakout” when smart contracts can accept outside data.

The bullish prediction from influential technology expert, Ian McLeod of Thomas Crown Art, the world’s leading art-tech agency, comes as Ethereum’s price jumped 4% on Monday, adding some 8% over the last week, to trade at highs of $210.

Mr McLeod comments: “Ethereum is back in bull territory and is on track to enjoy considerable gains before year-end.

“I maintain that we can expect Ethereum to hit $500 by the end of 2018 and go on an overall upward trajectory throughout 2019.

“However, what will be the monumental, defining driver for its global breakout? Oracles.

“Oracles link Ethereum-run smart contracts to the real world and will be responsible for the digital currency to enter an entirely new phase of mass adoption.”

Oracles are trusted data feeds that deliver information into the smart contract, thereby taking away the requirement for smart contracts to directly access information outside their network. Typically, oracles are usually supplied by third parties which are authorised by the organisations that use them.

Ian McLeod continues: “Oracles are a massive step forward in the practical utilisation of smart contracts. They allow smart contracts to accept outside data to decide upon an action – and this has a myriad of highly-demanded, real-world use-cases in almost every sector.

“For instance, they can help insurance companies with pay-outs on flight delays, sports betting firms with result information coming from various trusted sources, and can help us in the art world by conclusively proving the provenance of artwork quickly and easily.”

He adds: “Using a blockchain to authenticate artwork is an ideal use-case for smart contracts. They provide the ability to store a permanent, immutable record of artwork at the point of creation which can be used to authenticate registered works. Oracles will further enhance this concept and lighten smart contracts’ work processes.”

 The tech expert concludes: “When Ethereum-based smart contracts are fed a robust and reliable information through oracles to make precise and correct judgements, Ethereum’s price will explode.”

Last month, Mr Mcleod noted: “We can expect Bitcoin to lose 50% of its cryptocurrency market share to Ethereum, its nearest rival, within five years.

“Ethereum is already light years ahead of Bitcoin in everything but price – and this gap will become increasingly apparent as more and more investors jump into crypto.”

(Source: Thomas Crown Art)

In recent news the world witnessed Venezuela’s turmoiled path to hyperinflation. According to a recent report by the International Monetary Fund, Venezuelan citizens have been experiencing price hikes on consumer items of 200% week to week, and that’s just things like coffee and bread.

Behind the cause of Venezuela’s inflation is rumoured to be corrupt politics, price-fixing and social unrest, but much of the capital crisis began with rising prices of raw materials and a large reliance on imports for day to day living. Since 2015, an estimated 1.6 million people have left the country making themselves economic refugees elsewhere.

However, before we can understand how Venezuela, once a country with one of the strongest economies in South America, came to bust a 3-month annualized inflation rate of over 1,200,000%, we should learn about inflation and how it works.

Inflation is often considered the pinnacle of modern economics, but it’s not just a modern phenomenon. It goes way back, and has impacted exchanges, banking and commerce for hundreds of years. Today, inflation primarily influences interest rates, including but not limited to mortgages, pensions, payments, accounts, and all in all, the price of goods and services. On the back of all these, inflation also impacts investors.

In fact, inflation could be described simply put as the rate at which the price of things increases. The opposite is deflation, the rate at which the price of things decreases.

Inflation is usually measured and discussed according to two systems: The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) and the Retail Prices Index (RPI). These change according to data on how much stuff costs, how much people spend and how much something is valued, over time. The percentage figure shown by the measured CPI, i.e. 1.5%, means that goods and services are costing 1.5% more than the previous year. In theory, CPI should fluctuate according to supply and demand and therefore inflation occurs quite naturally in most countries, like the US and the UK, while in countries like Venezuela, the equation is littered with impacting factors that are difficult to even make sense of.

CPI figures in the UK are measured up to at least three decimal places and reported rounded up to a single decimal place. In Venezuela, they are far from reporting CPI in decimal round-ups, and perhaps they may never again. Once the fast-paced acceleration towards hyperinflation occurs, it’s very difficult to come back. Two famous examples of similar hyperinflation that have occurred are 1920s Germany and 2008 Zimbabwe, and in the latter case the solution was a complete overhaul of the African nation’s currency and dollarization of its economy.

The natural turnaround of inflation is that when the prices of items increase, the value of the currency buying the items decreases. For example, if I bought a cup of coffee for £1.50 last year, and this year it cost me £1.55, then for the same cup of coffee, I’ve had to spend more money, which on the flip side means my money is worth less; it’s worth less cups of coffee.

This video explains it well.

If we take a look at the changing prices of a cup of coffee in the UK compared with Venezuela, over the last four or so years, it may look something like this:

Since Venezuela's established position as a leading economy in South America, it has come a long way in doing bad trade. Prices of daily used items and household groceries have been coupling MoM. The main reasons behind this are a, shortages in state manufactured and produced goods, and b, a shortage of imported goods due to poor international relations. Within this equation is oil, which forms a majority stake in Venezuela’s export economy and a greater part of its GDP, given that Venezuela is home to some of the biggest oil reserves in the world. A slowdown in oil production since Maduro’s government came to power, mainly due to a lack of historical investment in the sector compared with the rest of the world’s oil markets, consequently resulted in a 45% reduction in GDP since 2013.

Pre-2013, Chavez was in power, and managed to keep the country’s economy afloat via oil revenues, but when he died of cancer in 2013, Maduro came to power and when global oil prices crashed, he failed to maintain stability. He ordered money to be printed to pay employees and continued to dispense state welfare. He then proceeded to control the price of household groceries, like flour, eggs and cooking oil. As CPI figures increased, the value of the Bolivar decreased, making foreign imports even harder. These events, combined with a collapse of import trade, led to the current hyperinflation that exists today. Further scarcities in food and medicine have also created hostile local environments, with protests and riots taking place across the country.

At this point, having depleted the state’s foreign exchange reserves, nation’s like Russia and China are no longer willing to help. Venezuela also cut off ties with the IMF in 2007, and the chances of a current bailout are slim. Although reports indicate Venezuela is on route to hit the 1 million percent inflation mark this year, according to the BBC, Venezuelan officials plan to resolve the country’s current economic anguish with very unorthodox methods. Nicolas Maduro’s government introduced a new digital currency, launching an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) for Petro this year. Serious doubt surround this move, as it is widely agreed the Petro is simply smoke and mirrors, with no real value. On the other hand, the government claims it raised $735m with the ICO, mostly backed by oil. The aim is to circumvent US and other countries’ economic sanctions, originally put in place due to political squabbles, and open the country up to international investment. They also intend to turn things around by introducing urban chicken and rabbit farming…

Sources:

https://nationalpost.com/news/world/an-estimated-1-6-million-people-have-fled-venezuela-since-2015-thats-five-per-cent-of-its-population

https://www.finance-monthly.com/2018/03/the-pound-vs-inflation-and-how-this-impacts-investors-today/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/garthfriesen/2018/08/07/the-path-to-hyperinflation-what-happened-to-venezuela/#6b96ff9915e4

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45652921

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12196322

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation_in_the_Weimar_Republic

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevehanke/2017/10/28/zimbabwe-hyperinflates-again-entering-the-record-books-for-a-second-time-in-less-than-a-decade/#776634f03eed

https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/7gNrvecy9QlyFrJYmZfiiL/The-how-and-why-of-the-Venezuelan-crisis.html
 

Bitcoin will lose 50% of its cryptocurrency market share to Ethereum within five years, states an influential tech expert and business analyst.

The comments from Ian Mcloed, from Thomas Crown Art, the world’s leading art-tech agency that he established with renowned art dealer, Stephen Howes, comes as Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, began a price recovery on Friday after being hit hard with a major sell-off in recent weeks.

Bitcoin – the biggest digital currency – had also been in decline, but it bounced back quicker than its nearest competitor.

Indeed, Ethereum had crashed 85% overall this year.

However, Ethereum is regained ground late last week, jumping almost 14 per cent after its most recent plunge, only find itself trading again 10 per cent lower once more in the past 24 hours.

What is happening? And what does the future hold for Ethereum?

Mr Mcloed observes: “Turbulence is a regular, and sometimes welcome, feature of the crypto sector. Therefore, the Ethereum rebound was, and is, inevitable.

“But not only do we think it will rebound considerably before the end of 2018, I believe that over the longer time it will significantly dent Bitcoin’s dominance.

“In fact, I think we can expect Bitcoin to lose 50 per cent of its cryptocurrency market share to Ethereum, its nearest rival, within five years.”

Why is he so confident?

“Simply, Ethereum offers more uses and solutions than Bitcoin, and it’s backed with superior blockchain technology,” says Mr Mcloed.

“This is why we use Ethereum’s blockchain in our art business. It has allowed us to create a system to use artworks as a literal store of value; it becomes a cryptocurrency wallet.

“It also solves authenticity and provenance issues – essential in the world of art. All our works of art are logged on the Ethereum’s blockchain with a unique ‘smART’ contract.”

Last month, Stephen Howes explained: “Using this cutting-edge technology, the art world can eradicate one of its biggest and most expensive problems – forgery – and can protect artists, galleries, and private owners and collectors.”

Ian Mcloed concludes: “Whilst there will continue to be peaks and troughs in the wider cryptocurrency market, due to its inherent strong core values, Ethereum will steadily increase in value in the next few years and beyond.

“Unless Bitcoin does more now to tackle scalability issues, and improves the technology it runs on, we cannot see how it can catch up with Ethereum over the next five years or so, when the crypto market will be even more mainstream.

“Ethereum is already light years ahead of Bitcoin in everything but price – and this gap will become increasingly apparent as more and more investors jump into crypto.”

(Source: Thomas Crown Art)