As 2017 draws to a close, cryptocurrencies- and bitcoin in particular- are the talk of the town from Taipei to Timbuktu. Some investors are optimistic. Some are anxious. Some are skeptical, while others doubt it will work or last long.
Here is a brief summary of where we are with cryptocurrencies and where we are headed to.

Banks , Governments and cryptocurrency.

Banks have been sceptical of cryptocurrency. Unsurprising, as in general they are in favour of the status quo, bitcoin and especially blockchain is a direct threat to middlemen like the banks and brokerages. However with major players like Goldman Sachs making plans to trade bitcoin , cryptocurrency is becoming a part of the investing mainstream.
As far as countries go it is a rapidly evolving landscape, different countries have different policies on cryptocurrency.

China banned all cryptocurrency exchanges.

Canadian banks view it as an asset instead of a form of currency while Russia believes cryptocurrency is a ‘pyramid scheme.’

Estonia recently announced that it was issuing a new cryptopcurrency called Estcoin. As Estonia is a member of the EC country’s it has an agreement to use the euro as its official currency so, they are being called tokens.

In early December 2017, Saudi Arabia, along with the United Emirates, announced they will begin using cryptocurrency as a form of digital currency. This will be the future of currency exchange.

South Korea- one of the biggest retail bitcoin markets- recently announced a crackdown on the ‘irrationally overheated’ market.

Conclusion:

In 2017, millions of people around the world decided that they wanted in on a digital currency with no state or financial institution backing. Cryptocurrencies have captured the imagination of millions of small investors, tech geeks, libertarians and milenials around the world. Banks and governments have just woken up to what is a revolution in how we view money and how we view those who have traditionally been the people we trusted to take care of it.
The rise of cryptocurrencies in 2017 was just the beginning of something very big that will have profound effects on banks, governments and society in the years to come.

About the Author: Elliot LaCour is a co-founder of Crowd-Up, a startup that plans to change the way equity crowdfunding works by using the power of blockchain technology.