Our summary of 2018 from cryptocurrency world.

We would like to present you a summary of the most important moments of the 2018 cryptocurrency year. All the milestones, changes, innovations and fun facts from the passing year. Enjoy and let us know what are your predictions for 2019.

January

• Worst possible start of the year with 2018 Great Cryptocurrency Crash. Right after Bitcoin reached its peak value on December 17, 2017, with $19,783, it fell down to $11,000 just five days later. During the period of time from the start of the year to the beginning of February 2018, Bitcoin price dropped by 65%. Other cryptocurrencies obviously followed the fate of their predecessor and also significantly lost in value. Crypto market lost hundreds of billions of dollars in what was the worst digital financial crisis ever and one of the biggest overall.
• Coincheck, largest Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, suspends trading after it was hacked. The hacker stole 523 million NEM tokens, which at the time were worth approximately $500 million. This was a heavy blow for the crypto market and influenced future cryptocurrency regulations in Japan. Fortunately, Coincheck returned the funds to its users and begun operating again.

February

• Petro (Petromoneda) was launched by Venezuelan government as the first official national cryptocurrency in history. The cryptocurrency was backed by country’s oil and mineral reserves and was supposed to save the Venezuelan economy and open it to international financing during the country’s crisis.
• Cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex was bought by Circle company for about 400 million dollars. Poloniex was struggling to adapt to the new crypto market after its initial success and was acquired by Goldman Sachs-funded Circle.

March

• Google, Facebook and Twitter ban advertisements for Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and token sales on their social media platforms. At this moment (December) some social media giants like Facebook or Google are reconsidering their policies towards cryptocurrency-related advertisement.

April

• Bitcoin celebrated another milestone in its history when the threshold of 17 million out of total 21 was crossed in April. That meant that 80% of all Bitcoin have been mined as there is a fixed 21 million coin cap for the most popular cryptocurrency.

May

• Like in case of governments of many European countries, the Polish Ministry of Finance had officially announced it would reconsider its current stand on the cryptocurrency taxation and would change the Polish regulations concerned with the taxation of crypto trading. Poland was not very open to the crypto world at first, but since then have changed their views and is considering implementing blockchain technology in many economic sectors as well as change its crypto taxation policy.
• A small island nation of the Marshall Islands, an associated state of the United States, had announced their plans to create their own cryptocurrency. The Sovereign (SOV) would be the official national currency and be used in all fields of business and industries, including the banking system.

June, July and August

• While the calendar and the weather indicated that it was summer, the crypto market was hit by the long “crypto winter”. The prices of cryptocurrencies were still dropping, but not as heavy as at the beginning of the year. Between June and August, Bitcoin has fluctuated between $6000 and $8000.
• The U.S. government’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was supposed to decide whether it will approve Bitcoin ETF applications or not, but since postponed its decision further to 2019. Throughout 2018, the commission has denied multiple Bitcoin ETF applications, among others that of Cameroon and Tyler Winklevoss.
• The American Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has officially denied that cryptocurrencies are often used in illegal operations. The agency has stated that only 10% of all Bitcoin transactions are illegal while the rest is regular financial operations.
• In 2018, across the world, different organisations and companies have conducted many surveys concerned with the future of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. During summer, Dutch ING and German Postbank, among others, have released official results for their studies. The trend is very similar in the majority of European countries and indicated that more than one-third of the whole population believes blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies to be the future of finances and that they would consider investing in Bitcoin or other crypto coins. Many people who participated in the polls conducted by the banks also expressed their desire to be paid in cryptocurrency in the near future.

September

• By September, the majority of altcoins have dropped over 80% from their highest value at the end of 2017 / beginning of 2018. The cryptocurrencies entered the worst phase of the 2018 crisis, with few of them almost completely losing their value and many left utterly destroyed by the market fluctuations. This was the result of the bear market and marked the beginning of the harsh crypto winter.

October

• Darb Finance BETA is released. This was the beginning of Darb website and the official start of our project. We have been working hard for many months before the BETA release and finally, in October we were able to show you the results.
• In October, the crypto world found out about a very interesting transaction which showed that both blockchain and cryptocurrencies are on the right paths into the future. Approximately 30 000 Bitcoin (Worth around $200 000 000) was sent for a transaction fee of mere 10 cents. The most shocking part of this news was that the same transaction made using the classic bank transfer would cost at least 10 000 dollars!
• Sony announced their plans of creating a new type of physical cryptocurrency wallet that will be even more secure and easy in use than other available ones.

November

• F-secure has tested us. A crucial step in Darb development was the F-secure approval of Darb system’s safety after a thorough security test.
• The Bitcoin Cash hash war between Bitcoin Cash ABC and Bitcoin Cash SV. Two coins forked from Bitcoin Cash (Which is a hard fork from Bitcoin itself) waged a battle for the title of the ultimate Bitcoin Cash protocol. The dispute had a negative impact on the recuperating price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
• Bitcoin fell by 80% from its highest price, losing a huge part of its value in just one week. The price of Bitcoin fell below $4000, many altcoins dropped more than 100% in their value. The value of both Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies fell mainly because of bad press, internal disputes such as Bitcoin Cash conflict and negative portrayal and pessimistic predictions in the mass media.

December

• Darb Proof of Trade official release. Important date for the Milestone I. DARB Token have been introduced and from this moment on, the traders have begun mining the tokens by making transactions on our trading platform.
• Paraguayan government expressed their desire to establish the biggest cryptocurrency mining farm in the world in their country. Paraguay is known for their large supplies of renewable hydroelectric power which can support thousands of miners at the same time.
• Around this time, Asus, a multinational computer technology and electronics company from Taiwan, stated that their new graphics cards will have a built-in option to mine cryptocurrencies when not using it for other purposes. That way, gamers who will take a break could mine crypto and earn some money.

A complicated year and a bright future of crypto and blockchain

Without a doubt, this was a huge year for cryptocurrencies. From their highest value moments to the giant crypto crisis, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies spread and reached the general public while blockchain technology was implemented into new business fields and industry sectors. Even though it was a tough year for all people involved with cryptocurrencies, we agree with most financial analysts and crypto experts, that 2019 will be a great year for all crypto world and both the value as well as the widespread use of the cryptocurrencies will significantly grow.That is why we see this crypto winter and bear market as a perfect opportunity to invest in cryptocurrencies while their value is still lower. This is maybe the only chance for people with lower budget and less experienced in crypto trading, to buy larger amounts of coins before they skyrocket in value once again. And trust us at Darb, they definitely will!