2019 in review and what to expect in 2020…
Welcome to the latest Token News blog. It’s been a while since we’ve posted an update, yet a lot has happened in the crypto space. So much in fact that we thought it deserved its own post. So without further ado, this is Token News’ year in review and our predictions for what to look out for in the new year…
The revenge of the Bear
While Bitcoin ends the year up on where it was in January, or the market as a whole, 2019 has been a fairly tough year.
Along with more difficult mining, falling ETH prices have been the hallmark of 2019. They fell close to $200 down to $131.31, with fears the small recovery will not stave off a bigger sliding trend.
That being said, there has been some definite highlights. Ethereum 2.0 is now in its final stages of testing in what has to be described as a community-led effort — alongside one of the best development teams in the space. We’ve been hearing regular updates about its development and we should be seeing the initial launch in early 2020.
Halvening incoming
We couldn’t discuss 2020 without mentioning the upcoming Bitcoin halvening. This is when the amount of Bitcoins you get when you mine a block will be halved, drastically limiting supply. What effect this will have on the market is yet to be seen, but previous halvenings have led to large price increases and the 2016 halvening was a contributing factor to the bull run of 2017.
Only time will tell whether the same will happen this time around. Though it’s worth pointing out that this halvening comes during a long-term downward trend in the price of Bitcoin.
Either way, make sure that May 2020 is in your diary.
Regulation, regulation, regulation
One topic that we’ve been keeping our eyes on at Token News is regulation of the crypto space. While blockchain may be a global technology with most cryptocurrencies aiming to make the world smaller, most governments do not think that way.
This year we’ve seen the Chinese government step in and ban cryptocurrencies from Weibo, the country’s leading social media platform. In Europe, the EU has passed legislation as part of its latest Money Laundering Directive that will have stringent checks on crypto throughout the union from January 2020.
Regulation needn’t be a bad thing, however. It can begin to normalise cryptocurrency as, well, a currency. In the US, we’re starting to see regulation at a state level with digital assets becoming a new asset class, as in the case of Wyoming. The UK is implementing similar laws at a national level. Elsewhere, Germany and France have introduced licenses for institutional traders and Iran has even introduced licenses for crypto mining.
We expect this to only increase — and progress — in 2020…
Yet there are glimmers of hope because the tide has been changing in 2019. When crypto first exploded, the conversation around regulation came down to one thing: tax. Now the debate is much more nuanced.
The best example of this is Facebook’s Libra. Tech giants, like Facebook, have moved from outright banning crypto on its platform last year to embracing it in 2019 — and starting their own, Libra. There’s no doubt that Libra has become one of the most high-profile projects this year, so whatever happens to the project in 2020 could have a huge impact on the rest of the blockchain space.
Over to you
So what do you think will happen to crypto in 2020 — and are you excited, worried or a bit of both?
