2/18 ANDY HOFFMAN (CryptoGoldCentral.com): Crypto’s Near Future?

Flying home from a vacation I’ll never forget – a Disney cruise with my wife and 7-year old daughter – I thought I’d pen some thoughts about my best guess at something no one has been able to figure for some time; i.e., crypto’s near future.

It seemed so easy when I built a life-changing Bitcoin position in early 2016, as it appeared to be a no-brainer at the time. It didn’t feel that way at the heart of the scaling wars, of course – which ultimately, took less than six months to resolve. That, and other potentially catastrophic hurdles - like the Chinese “exchange ban” of September 2017, just as I was launching CGC.`

However, when SegWit locked in in August 2017; and was implemented a month later; it became crystal clear that Bitcoin cannot be stopped – at least, the Bitcoin blockchain, which is entirely different from Bitcoin investment demand.

The ensuing investment mania captured the imagination of the global investment community - like the dotcom boom, justified by the underlying premise, but unjustified by the broadness of the rally, and how much it valued crypto’s near-term prospects. After all, it’s a very nascent technology – with limited current use cases, considerable technical challenges, and steadfast opposition from the world’s political, financial, and monetary power structure.

Like all great bubbles, it FELT like a new crypto paradigm was upon us in December 2017 and January 2018, despite the fact that expectations were WAY out of line with reality. The reason being, that Bitcoin does SO many things SO much better than legacy alternatives, it’s difficult to believe ANYONE could see otherwise. Yet, the power of inertia cannot be underestimated – as despite decades of fiat currency abuse, Precious Metals trade barely above all-time inflation-adjusted lows, whilst Bitcoin remains a pariah to 90% of mainstream investors…ESPECIALLY after its second 85% plunge in four years.

That said, just as the internet continued to grow following the dotcom crash, Bitcoin’s hash rate has continued to grow since the price peaked at $20,000. Sure, it declined in the wake of November’s nonsensical SV attack – but has since recovered most of its losses, putting it in range of all-time highs anew. This, as we approach the one-year countdown to the 2020 halving.

Price-wise, Bitcoin APPEARS to have bottomed in the mid-$3,000s, though the same could have been said for $6,000 between February and November of 2018 – i.e., the Hoffman Line. In other words, NO ONE knows if TA FUDster predictions that $1,000 will return will occur, any more than if a return to $20,000 is inevitable.

As for altcoins, the outlook is even more uncertain, given how few actually DO anything – and consequently, how much less liquid their tokens are, and stable their blockchains. However, if there’s one thing I am confident in, it’s that altcoins are NOT going away; and thus, whatever financial fate befalls Bitcoin will befall altcoins, too.

My best guess, for what it’s worth, is that crypto has bottomed – as no matter how hard one looks for reasons it will “collapse” further, I find it hard to comprehend a scenario where crypto does’t play a significant; and potentially, dominant; role in future global finance. Bitcoin many not be as dominant as “maximalists” hope, but it will certainly be a significant factor for years to come; potentially, as powerful as said maximalists anticipate.

As for altcoins, I believe their cumulative fate will be tied to Bitcoin for the foreseeable future – with those that demonstrate potentially viable, defensible use cases being price percentage leaders when the crypto bull market inevitably returns. This is why I remain heavily invested in BRhodium, and am proud to be a part of MimbleWimbleCoin (MWC) team.