It’s going to be an interesting year for cryptocurrencies. Virtually everyone has demonstrated the same opinion—2018 will be the year that digital currencies really make their mark. There have already been several advances in blockchain technology that will facilitate future growth, and the result has been recent improvements in trading virtually across the board.
Jesse Powell, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, agrees that this will be a good year, and feels that the cryptocurrency market cap could reach $1 trillion before the end of the year.
While there has been a pullback in the past couple of weeks, cryptocurrencies will soon witness another growth spurt. In an interview with CNBC, Powell said: “You’ve got a lot more kids graduating from crypto programs at universities now. I think we’re just going to see it continue exponentially from here.” He was then asked if he thought the cryptocurrency market would reach $1 trillion, to which he gave his nod of approval.
Founded in 2011, Kraken is considered to be one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges by volume. It trades in Euros, Canadian dollars, U.S. dollars, Japanese Yen and British pounds. It is also the first exchange to have trading price and volume listed on the Bloomberg Terminal as well as the first to pass a verifiable proof-of-reserves audit.
However, it’s not going to be easy. After reaching a high of over $800 billion in January, the market cap is currently around $417 billion. The sharp decline came from a massive sell-off from investors who saw several regulatory changes as being detrimental to the future of cryptocurrencies, as well multiple warnings to consumers by top European Union regulators.
The latest rebound comes after enthusiasts returned to a more positive view of the outlook on crypto. This is due, in no small part, to comments made during a recent hearing on cryptocurrencies held by the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.
J. Christopher Giancarlo, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, discussed a working group that was created between the Treasury Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to coordinate regulation of cryptocurrencies. Giancarlo also made comments recently before the U.S. Senate, extolling the future of virtual currencies and announcing, in a nutshell, that cryptocurrencies are here to stay, and that the public should embrace them.
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