Influencers Weigh-In On Big 2019 Predictions For The CryptoBlock Arena

  • Lauren deLisa Coleman

There is no doubt that 2018 has been quite an action-packed year for all things in the cryptoblock space.  While those in the crypto area closely monitored gains, losses and SEC moves, blockchain devotees leaped from conference-to-conference around the world following those proselytizing about the industry. So as many make preparations for the year ahead, here's what a number of influencers in the space believe 2019 will hold for the cryptoblock space.

Bill Tai, long-time venture capitalist and cryptocurrency investor believes, “The price of Bitcoin will end the year 2019 higher than it is today, but will see something in the $3000s before it gets there. It’s clearly found a place in the world’s monetary ecosystems as a 'reserve currency' easier to acquire in a crisis than gold." Tai says to keep in mind that while Bitcoin was born from the ashes of the 2008 financial crisis that even the price of gold decreased when the crisis first unfolded due to the initial massive contraction in monetary liquidity.

“With the world’s debt-to-GDP ratio higher than its ever been, and with interest on debt for the U.S. now approaching the size of the US military budget, and growing at 50% per annum this year, we will see greatly expanded interest in Bitcoin before the end of 2019," Tai concludes.

 

The cryptoblock arena is nothing if not saturated by legal hurdles and challenges. ICO attorney Jay Swob thinks 2019 will be the year in which the pendulum swings back a little bit. "Most of 2018 was consumed by fear-motivated CEOs and overly cautious law firms who felt the lack of clear safe harbor boundaries justified an ultra-conservative approach whereby virtually all utility tokens should be construed as if they were securities under U.S. law, even if they clearly were not."

Thus Swob says that such an approach forced many fledgling businesses into the realm of security offerings registered or exempted. "Now, though, in 2019, I believe a more thoughtful approach will govern ICO campaigns.  Pure utility functions will be stripped out into non-security ICO events, while securities-like features will be molded into secondary tokens and issued as an STO (Security Token Offering)."

In tandem with legal parameters settling, the space will expand its impact. According to Paul Snow, CEO, Factom, a company that specializes in security around blockchain, huge growth in digital rights management in the U.S is to be expected. "Also watch for blockchain to begin to scale with more pegged assets enabling more payment applications," he predicts. "And expect a leveling of opportunity between the first-world and the developing world, to great economic benefit."

Kyle Asman, partner and co-founder at BX3 Capital, a business advisory firm to blockchain and cryptocurrency startups has an eye on policy. He explains, “We will see a U.S. legislative bill in 2019 that will advocate for light-touch regulation and will place the authority to regulate the digital asset markets under a certain regulatory body. The positive regulation and clarity coming to the US will set the stage for further institutional adoption, approval for a crypto-backed ETF and the rebound of prices in 2019."

Looking for bold forecasts? Glenn Gow, Partner at Clear Ventures believes that cryptocurrencies will rise without much fanfare while NASDAQ will slowly drop. "I also see that blockchain will take hold in enterprises and actually become a competitive weapon. Public blockchain projects will start to see big wins for the first time. I think Amazon will issue a cryptocurrency and governments, including the U.S., will start national crypto projects, and the U.S. military will adopt Monero."

Others see new intersections within blockchain itself. Michael Bancroft, co-host of the new Globalive Media series “Beyond Innovation,” which airs weekly on Bloomberg Television says that one of the key trends we’ll see unfold in 2019 is the increasing standardization and interoperability of blockchain networks. He adds, "This is similar to what we’ve seen with smartphone operating systems. A  handful of blockchain 'operating systems' will emerge that will make seamless and secure data storage and distribution possible at a large scale. Different blockchains will need to understand how they each codify and store data in order to work together."

Bancroft adds that we're also likely to see blockchain employed for cybersecurity, particularly by governments looking to secure important files and records safe from the hands of hackers.

Dan Friedberg, Chair, Payments Group at Fenwick & West, LLP says,  “Expect to see compliant marketplaces for security tokens emerge. More and more companies will seek financing through security token sales rather than traditional equity.

Adds colleague Liz Federowicz, an Associate at the firm, "Stable coins are virtual currency that are backed by real currency or some other assets. We expect to see stable coins that are backed by commodities and other assets, such as gold or artwork."  She also says to watch for particular shifts in the entertainment industry. Federowicz says that Fenwick & West is seeing more and more entertainment industry clients embracing blockchain technology.  "Royalty tracking and privacy prevention with blockchain-enhanced DRM, decentralized film funding and profit-sharing, tokenized celebrity culture and support for creators are just a few applications that will ascend in 2019," she explains.  "The number and production value of blockchain-oriented podcasts will increase."

Finally, Dr. Jim Kyung-Soo Liew, who is an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School teaching Blockchain, big data, machine learning/AI  and entrepreneurial finance has his own take. "Tokenizing real estate is happening and will continue its strong trend into 2019 with much bigger deals announced in the $100 million to $1 billion range.  Institutional investors will move as fast-followers into this industry giving cryptos a huge vote of confidence and regulators will stay at bay as to not smother this innovation and job creation."

 

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