Important: This post should not be considered investment advice. The author focuses on the best coins in terms of actual use and adoption, not from a financial or investment perspective.
In 2017, crypto markets set a new standard for simple profits. Almost every piece or chip made a huge profit. “A rising tide floats all boats,” they say, and the end of 2017 was a flood. The price increase has created a positive feedback cycle, which attracts more and more capital to Crypto. Unfortunately, but inevitably, this galloping market involves massive investment. Money has been thrown indiscriminately into all sorts of dubious projects, many of which will never bear fruit.
In the current bearish climate, hype and greed are replaced by critical assessment and caution. Especially for those who have lost money, marketing promises, endless shillings and charismatic oratory are no longer enough. Well, the fundamental reasons for buying or owning a coin are once again Paramount.
Basic factors in evaluating a cryptocurrency-
There are some factors that tend to conquer hype and price pumps, at least in the long term:
Adoption Angle
Although the technology of cryptocurrency or ICO business plan may seem amazing without users, they are just dead projects. It is often overlooked that widespread acceptance is a key feature of money. In fact, it is estimated that over 90% of Bitcoin’s value is a function of the number of users.
While acceptance of fiat is mandated by the State, acceptance of cryptography is voluntary. Many factors play into the decision to accept a coin, but perhaps the most important consideration is the likelihood that others will accept the coin.
security
Decentralization is essential to the I push model of a true cryptocurrency. Without decentralization, we have a little closer to a Ponzi scheme than a real cryptocurrency. Trust in people or institutions is the problem; It tries to solve a cryptocurrency.
If dismantling a coin or a central controller can alter the transaction record, its fundamental security is being called into question. The same goes for parts with unproven code that hasn’t been thoroughly tested over the years. The more you trust the code to work as described, regardless of human influence, the more secure the coin will be.
innovation
Valid coins strive to improve technology, but not at the expense of security. True technological progress is rare because it requires a great deal of expertise, as well as wisdom. While there are always fresh ideas that can be screwed up, if doing so exposes weaknesses or criticisms of the coin’s original purpose, it’s not the point.
Innovation can be a difficult factor to assess, especially for non-technical users. However, if a currency code is stagnant or doesn’t receive updates that address important issues, it can be a sign that the developers are weak on ideas or motivation.
incentives
The economic incentives inherent in a currency are easier to understand for the average person. If a coin had a large pre-min or ICO (initial share offering) where the team had a significant chip share, then it’s pretty clear that the main motivation is profit. By buying what the team has to offer, you play your game and get rich. Make sure you provide tangible and reliable value in return.
5 cryptocurrencies to buy in 2018
There has never been a better time to re-evaluate and rebalance a crypto portfolio. Based on solid fundamentals, here are five pieces worth sticking with or perhaps buying at today’s depressed prices (just a warning, they could go lower).
#1 Bitcoin (due to its decentralization)
The number one is Bitcoin (BTC), which remains the market leader in all categories. Bitcoin has the highest price, the widest hypothesis, the most security (due to the enormous energy consumption of Bitcoin mining), the most famous brand identity (the forks have tried to be appropriate), and the majority of development Active and rational. It is also the only piece traded on traditional markets to date in the form of Bitcoin futures trading on the American CME and CBOE.
Bitcoin remains the main engine; The performance of all other shards is highly correlated with the performance of Bitcoin. My personal expectation is that the gap between Bitcoin and most other shards will widen.
Bitcoin has several promising innovations that will soon be installed as additional layers or soft forks. Examples are Flash system (LN), tree, Schnorr signatures Mimblewimbleund many more.
In particular, we plan to open up a whole new range of applications for Bitcoin, enabling large-scale, microtransactions and secure instant payments. LN is becoming more and more stable as users test their different options with real Bitcoin. As it becomes easier to use, it can be assumed that it will benefit greatly from the adoption of Bitcoin.
#2 Litecoin (for its durability)
Litecoin (LTC) is a clone of Bitcoin with a different hash algorithm. Although Litecoin lacks the anonymity technology of Bitcoin, surprising reports have shown that Litecoin adoption on dark markets is second only to bitcoin. Although it is a currency that I think is much more suited to the role of acquiring illegal goods and services, perhaps this is due to the longevity of Litecoin: it was launched in late 2011.
Another factor in favor of Litecoin is that it integrates Bitcoin SegWit technology, which means that Litecoin is ready for LN. Litecoin can benefit from atomic chain exchange. In other words, secure currency pair trading without third party (ie exchange) involvement. Because Litecoin keeps its code largely in sync with Bitcoin, it is well positioned to benefit from Bitcoin’s technical progress.
#3 Ethereum (for smart contracts)
Ethereum (ETH) is facing some big problems at the moment. First, governments are cracking down on ICOs, and rightly so: many have been fraudulent or failed. Since most ICOs run as ERC tokens 20 on the Ethereum network, the ICO mania has brought a lot of value to Ethereum in recent years. If proper rules are adopted to protect investors Ethereum project scams can claim a certain legitimacy as a crowdfunding platform.
The second major problem facing Ethereum is the delayed transition to a new hybrid work and battery detection system. Ethereum mining is currently a profitable GPU, but Bitmain has just announced a small Ethereum ASIC, which is likely to affect the bottom lines of GPU miners. It remains to be seen whether this will change the POW and how successful that change will be.
If Ethereum is able to survive these two big problems – regulation and mining – it will show great resilience. Alternatively, there are several competing currencies following its shadow, such as Ethereum Classic (etc), Cardano (ADA) and EOS.
#4 Monero (for its anonymity)
While it’s not all the take on the dark markets, I (XMR) remains prime privacy. Its popularity and market capitalization still outpace its rivals, and for good reason.
Monero’s code requires less trust than the “loyal” Zcash key event, and it got off to a good start, unlike Dash. Monero recently modified its Pow to defeat the development of a small ASIC for its algorithm, reaffirming its commitment to the decentralization part of mining. The significant drop in hash rate is due to the new version being constantly reported against ASICs. This may also be an opportunity for GPUs and even small CPUs to come back to me. The new version of Monero, 0.12, also includes other improvements that show that Monero continues to grow along sensitive lines.
#5 iPRONTO (Decentralized Incubation Platform)
The iPRONTO incubation platform is an Ethereum chain, dedicated to investors looking for a safe and reliable platform to invest in new ideas and future innovators, who can present their ideas and receive feedback from users, experts in the field of practice and implementation of derived ideas.
Innovators’ ideas are accepted in the NES Smart Contract format which will be signed between the expert platform and the client for the Commission to review and register the client’s business idea on the platform. The idea will not be published on the chain’s public platform to all users, but only to selected members of the target community who are willing to sign a Smart contract to maintain the confidentiality of the idea.