2018 was certainly one of the worst years for crypto traders. For this exact reason, many investors and casual users are entering 2019 with hopes that new opportunities for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will open up. Quite a few experts predict that Bitcoin will increase significantly in price by the end of next year, however, one should never forget about the risks that are associated with these kinds of financial technologies and their highly volatile history.
The price of bitcoin can be influenced by a number of factors. Here are some of the most important and relevant ones right now that have serious potential to impact the price of Bitcoin in the near future:
Amun Crypto ETP, which is already being traded on the Six Stock Exchange in Zurich, was designed to track an index that is based on the movements of the five leading cryptocurrencies. This Crypto-ETP was created in accordance with the same strict standards that are required from ordinary products traded on exchanges. The Crypto-ETP will provide institutional investors, who are usually limited to investing exclusively into securities or do not want to take care of digital assets, with the opportunity to invest in cryptocurrencies.
Currently, the Amun Index contains 48,64% BTC, 27,27% XRP, 17,3% ETH, 2,97% BCH and 3,82% LTC. The company, as stated, will rebalance the portfolio on a monthly basis in order to provide an accurate representation of the current cryptocurrency market.
Jay Clayton, Chairman at SEC, recently highlighted the importance of the Bitcoin ETF proposed by VanEck. The VanEck Bitcoin ETF price index will use data from the 3 largest over-the-counter markets – Genesis Trading, Circle Trade, and Cumberland, since they consider these to be the least manageable markets. Nonetheless, the SEC chairman had some doubts as to whether the Bitcoin ETF would be approved until the markets were completely free from the risk of manipulation.
Nasdaq, the second largest stock exchange in the world, plans to launch Bitcoin futures that will be traded on the stock exchange. The announcement was made by the director of the investment firm VanEck, Gabor Gurbacs. In his statement, he noted that VanEck has partnered up with Nasdaq to bring regulated futures contracts version 2.0 to the market. This will lead to an increase in Bitcoin capitalization and may result in a significant rise in Bitcoin prices in 2019.
In conclusion, it is worth mentioning another factor that can have a big impact on the cost of Bitcoin – new users. In 2018, observation showed us significant changes in the user category – from retail to institutional investors. This phenomenon has partially caused the stagnation of Bitcoin prices for most of the year. Therefore, seeing how the cryptocurrency market is attracting the interest of a larger number of institutional and amateur investors alike, the price of digital currency may seriously increase.