Bitcoin Price Prediction for 2018

• Market Maturing and Growing
• Policy Makers Grapple with Bitcoins
• Pace of Price Rise Likely to be Slower

But as we enter into the last month of the year, Bitcoin prices have begun to stall and that has raised some doubts on whether the run would continue for the next year as well.

Market Maturing and Growing

We have seen the growth of the market and we have also seen many regulators and central banks beginning to notice as well as acknowledge the fact that the bitcoin industry is here to stay. While some regulators have reacted to this realization by banning them outright, like China, others have taken a more positive view of it by viewing it as legal tender and giving it a place alongside the fiat currency, like that in Japan. Others have chosen to take a middle path, accept Bitcoins for what it is and have chosen to find ways to regulate the market, like the US and Singapore and we are finding more and more countries adopting one of these approaches. So, the fact that the industry has been growing and gaining recognition is something that cannot be denied.

This is likely to continue in the year 2018 as well as only a handful of countries have been decisive in the way that they have dealt with bitcoins while the rest of the countries continue to grapple with the ideas of how best to deal with this new market. So, the year 2018 would be interesting in that aspect as more and more countries come out with ways and means of controlling this industry and that is likely to either open up the bitcoin industry for even more widespread acceptance while it could be shut down in a few other countries. This is likely to determine the pace of the progress in the Bitcoin prices. While the estimates for Bitcoin prices in the year 2018 vary anywhere between $5000 and $500,000, we would like to be more practical and believe that the pace of the price rise in bitcoins is likely to be slower in 2018 as the attention shifts to the altcoins for the next year. As said above, there would be a growth and mature of the market in the coming year but that would also mean some good 2-way action in the trading market which should keep the prices under control.

Policy Makers Grapple with Bitcoins

Policymakers have also begun to take notice and have been regularly issuing statements on what they think about bitcoin. While the leaders of some hedge funds like JP Morgan have dismissed Bitcoin in an outright manner by comparing it to Tulipmania, branding the price rise as pure speculation and their CEO Dimon called it a fraud at one point of time, saying that traders in bitcoin were stupid. On the other hand, we have central bank leaders like Yellen stating that they are looking at Bitcoins closely and that they believe that the industry has still not grown enough for them to contemplate any major action. The incoming Fed Chief is more worried about privacy and regulation of the same.

We also see that the ECB President Draghi also seems to be sharing a similar view as the Fed and this is a positive sign for the bitcoin industry. The Chinese regulators have banned bitcoin trading while the Japanese have embraced it. We also see that South Korea is looking to tax the gains made from bitcoin trading. We also see that many other large investors like Warren Buffet viewing the price rise in bitcoin as a bubble that is likely to burst at any point in time. As can be seen, even the leaders in the financial industry seem to be as confused as the retail traders on how to deal with the Bitcoin industry.

Pace of Price Rise Likely to be Slower

In 2018, Bitcoin traders can continue to expect prices to remain strong but they have to temper down their expectations and make sure that they diversify their holdings. As said above, the price rise is likely to happen at a much slower pace and we believe that prices would trade between $10,000 to $50,000 range for much of the year. The alt coins are likely to get a lot of attention in the coming year as speculators shift their focus to coins that are likely to give them better returns as the Bitcoin industry grows and matures in a steady manner and prices slow down.