Seven Predictions of Experts Regarding the Future of the Cryptocurrency

Not so long ago Fortune Magazine organized a conference in Aspen, Colorado, which hosted leading cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, investors, bankers and many others.

The headliners of the conference were Balaji Srinivasan, the head and co-founder of 21.co, a cryptocurrency startup, Peter Smith, the head and co-founder of Blockchain, Kathleen Breitman, the head and co-founder of Tezos, a blockchain startup, which collected a record amount of over $ 200 million with ICO.

In fact, experts discussed many topics: Bitcoin, ICO, Ethereum and many others. The main predictions given by experts are as follows.

  • Bitcoin and Ethereum will stay for long

Most supporters of cryptocurrency agree that bitcoin and its main competitor, ethereum, have enough power to continue existing. However, their competition will probably become more serious in the future. "In the next 5-10 years bitcoin and ethereum will exist," Balaji Srinivasan said in front of the audience of 70 people.

Besides, Peter Smith said that his company Blockchain, which started to use bitcoin long ago, has only recently begun to pay attention to ethereum. But Mike Cagney, the head of SoFi, noted vice versa that he was initially more interested in a younger cryptocurrency.

"Bitcoin has its own benefit, but its commercial use is currently limited," Cagney said. "Blockchain and ethereum, in turn, have excellent infrastructure," he continued and added that, thanks to this, it is possible to rebuild the title insurance system completely.

  • Unknown cryptocurrencies will gain popularity

Nowadays bitcoin and ethereum attract almost all attention, but evolution will not stop. It is possible that in the near future there will be more advanced technologies.

For instance, Kathleen Breitman believes that Tezos will solve some blockchain problems. In her opinion, Tezos developers are going to create an automatic update of the system. Thus, disputes over the introduction of updates in current systems, causing harm to bitcoin, will become irrelevant.

Nobody can say how many tokens, coins and blockchain protocols will become market leaders in the future, but experts note that at least not one. "There will be most likely 1 or 2, which will take the dominant position in the market. I think this year or next year there will be a new strong cryptocurrency," Smith believes.

  • Some people will suffer

At present, tokens are seen as a great way to collect the right amount of money quickly and practically without any questions. Has anyone become rich in this way? - Of course, yes. Has anyone gone bankrupt? - Yes, certainly. In addition, Smith noted that, in his view, market manipulation and insider trading are common among the current ICO. "In the short term, we treat them with caution. We should restrain ourselves, each new technology will be similar at first," Smith said about his company's attitude to the ICO.

"Strictly regulated markets have become such not by chance. There are scammers, who should be in prison," said the head of Ripple Brad Garlinghouse.

  • ICO will eventually bypass Silicon Valley and Wall Street

It’s noteworthy, the days when you need to come to investors hat in hand are coming to an end. In the world, where anyone can become an investor without leaving home, physical location loses its significance.

"You used to come to Silicon Valley, go on up Sand Hill Road, communicate with people," Srinivasan said about the financial search before. ICO is changing the state of affairs.

New projects are invested in a new way, similar to Kickstarter. Breitman said that by launching sale of Tezos tokens, she wanted to "gather as many people as possible who want to participate in our ecosystem." The company eventually collected more than $ 200 million, opening more than 30,000 Tezos-purses.

  • Regulators will tighten control

Elena Kvochko, Head of Global Information Security Strategy and Implementation at Barclays, said that her bank is discussing with regulators bitcoin, blockchain and others. Regulators are open to dialogue as long as the "know your customer" principle remains, although it is too early to talk about anything.

To Srinivasan’s words, while some states are putting obstacles in the way of cryptocurrencies, such countries as Switzerland, Singapore and Estonia are developing conditions, which will enable new technologies to develop. These countries are aiming to become leaders in the new financial sphere. Smith said that US citizens and businessmen should be concerned about this.

Besides, Breitman added that until they adopt new rules, it is better to maintain transparency of their activities.

  • There will be less speculation

In Smith’s opinion, while the prices of the currency fluctuate from one side to the other, speculators make money off this. However, there are reasons to believe that markets will become more stable, as bitcoin market has become, despite its recent price fluctuation.

To become better than modern cash, cryptocurrencies need more options for the use, not just "buying drugs," says Jeff John Roberts, a Fortune correspondent, a conference moderator.

Srinivasan suggested his scenario. Imagine that "you are awake in the Matrix," he said about the supposed virtual reality that may come in the future and reach all people. When people meet each other in different parts of the world, they will need a means of exchange. "You can not just give a dollar to make a transaction. We need an international currency. After a while, people will need overseas transactions more than today," Srinivasan said.

  • Cryptocurrencies will force the current structures to be improved

Every time a buyer uses his card, payment systems charge a commission. Nico van Someren, director of technology at the Linux Foundation, said that Visa and Mastercard charge a commission that exceeds the amount needed to complete the transaction. New technologies can make transactions faster and less expensive. One of the consequences of the universal integration of such technologies may be that current payment systems will have to improve their services.

"Bitcoin is good because it will force banks to take a commission in the amount of the real value of the transaction," said Van Someren.

Smith, in turn, was less optimistic about the reaction of the current structures. "I do not think that banks have the opportunity to change their price models," he said.