Several factors illustrating a crypto-market boom in 2018

Lets consider a few recent developments in the crypto-sphere:

• Goldman Sachs has owned a stake in a crypto trading desk since 2015. That year, Goldman Sachs’ principal investment strategy group, which invests specifically in technology companies, participated in a 50 million dollar funding round with Bitcoin-startup "Circle Internet Financial" gaining about a 4400% increase from when Goldman Sachs initially invested in the Bitcoin-startup. These sorts of gains are not normal in the average securities markets and has surely left an imprint of future potential gains and opportunities for the banking giant.

• China has stated that miners could face power restrictions in Mainland China. This is in fact good news for pricing as some of the cheapest BTC and Cryptos were being mined in China in very large volumes (some of the biggest in the world). If mining dominance is switched to another region where electricity is more expensive that means that prices of crypto-currencies will be driven UP as input costs of production increase. Simply put, the more expensive it is to mine the higher traders portfolio values will go.

• Lighting network is doing well on the BTC block-chain and sharding for ethereum should be completed this year. This means better real world adoption and with adoption comes a greater organic demand for the currency. Add to this the fact that Proof of Stake minting for OmiseGo and Ethereum should entice many new investors who do not have the capability or expertise to mine. Perhaps even large institutions will observe the "fixed" returns (i.e a sort of interest rate) as an opportunity to diversify their portfolios; add this to a better price stability for a currency as POS should decrease the amount of currency panicked FUD-ers would be willing to sell off.

• Because of new exchanges opening without transactions fees (i.e RobinHood) it provides incentive to individuals who do not like paying brokerage fees in order to trade in traditional securities. For example in RSA to trade via banking apps on our stock exchange it costs around 60USD to purchase any amount of shares and the same 60USD to sell shares. It is also note that the exchange "CoinSpark" that will function out of Grand Caymen is going to act as a very strong resistor to government interference and regulations, if they ban exchanges, individuals will simply withdraw into Fiat on Grand Caymen and proceed from that point onward.

• Countries like Russia are forging ahead with the creation of their own, government-issued cryptocurrency, the "crypto-ruble", which they can fully control. Others, like Venezuela, have been forced to do so to battle out-of-control inflation that has crippled its economy. Speaking to RT at the WEF in Davos, Universa CEO Alexander Borodich said governments are keen to issue their own virtual currencies that would be backed by commodities like barrels of oil. Now, this may come as a shock or negative statement but think about the nature of us civilians or true crypto-adopters, if they build a massive infrastructure that accepts their government backed cryptocurrencies these networks will be easily hijacked and utilized by members who are fans of decentralization in an instant. The government in a worst case scenario will implement mass QR code scanners in every shop and mall in the country and in one moment these could be altered to accept BTC and ETH resulting in the mainstream adoption that has always been dreamed of for these beloved crypto-currencies. This may be one of the governments greatest mistakes; just one movement (like the Occupy wall Street movement) brought on by one economic mistake form a leading economy and the people will move to a decentralized alternative indefinitely using the existing centralized payment networks arrogantly built by governments in there attempt to copy block-chain technology in a stubborn attempt to retain a broken system. They are essentially building the weapons that will be used against them.

• Samsung has confirmed it is now manufacturing specialized cryptocurrency mining chips, aiming to provide application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC's) to an unnamed Chinese mining firm.
  Still, in its recent fourth quarter and fiscal year 2017 results report yesterday, Samsung talked about the growing demand for cryptocurrency mining, stating that in 2018 it will provide processors to meet market needs. This bodes as good news as a significant amount of expensive market research went into making such a strategic decision by Samsung, what this means for traders like us, is that the future holds great potential no matter how much FUD is thrown at us; and Samsung know it.

• The EU has relatively mature stance vs cryptocurrencies that gives me hope for positive rational regulation (which is needed to a certain degree, I mean look at Bitconnect...): "Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel commented: "I see the blockchain as a game changer and I want Europe to be at the forefront of its development. We need to establish the right enabling environment – a Digital Single Market for blockchain so that all citizens can benefit, instead of a patchwork of initiatives. The EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum is an important step in that direction." Valdis Dombrovskis, an EC vice president in charge of financial stability, financial services and the Capital Markets Union, among other projects, who has previously commented on the EU's interest in blockchain technology, said the Observatory will also guide EU policymaking. Vladis praised the idea of block-chain technology, saying "among the many technologies that are driving digital innovation, block-chain has the potential to be truly transformative for financial services and markets."

All in all, this market correction can also be viewed in a positive light. those who will remain HODLING are the true passionate backers of cryptocurrencies and they are forming a good threshold/support level for the entire market capitalization. It will take people with "stubborn hands" and integrity with unfaltering values to resit the FUD some financial institutions, media outlets and governments will throw at the crypto-currency markets. But in the end decentralized assets are something we truly need in order to break this malignant system we are all unfortunate cogs in.