Finding the next bitcoin is not going to be easy but we here at Cointext have found what we think could be considered the next bitcoin.
ICO’s generated a lot of heat in 2017 with some generating millions of dollars in a matter of days. Now everyone wants in and ICO’s are popping up by the day.
Investment in ICOs likely to grow
After all it has become one of the easiest way of raising money without the usual regulatory scrutiny.
Fraudsters and speculators now crowd the field with coin offerings with no particular utility. Some of the money raised has already disappeared in some cases.
2018 will be different.
Authorities will crack down heavily. Investors will be wiser on the tokens to invest in. Money management firms and investors are taking cryptocurrencies very seriously and we expect a number of institutions to start adopting in 2018. For all upcoming ICOs, see our ICO calendar.
Early adopters and traders made astronomical returns in the last two years from the industry. Don’t worry if you have not invested in cryptocurrencies yet. You could still make a fortune from investing in smaller emerging tokens. In fact the altcoins market as it is called has been rallying as the leading crypto bitcoin stagnated.
Amid the chaos in the new market, here are some of the smaller cryptocurrencies to invest in 2018.
Invest in Ripple (XRP)
If there is a cryptocurrency that enjoys wide institutional support and real utility, it’s got to be Ripple. The cryptocurrency soared to record levels in December alone as more established cryptos showed their fatigue.
At its highest, Ripple exploded a massive 84% within a day nearly doubling its value. In fact Coinbase is said to be planning to list it as one of the tradable coins by mid 2018.
The digital currency is tailored for the financial industry and is set to make cheaper and quicker global transfers of money possible. It does not just have value, it is also a payment processing system.
Ripple is already working with banks and other financial institutions to make this become a reality. Transfers of any currency are now possible within four seconds. Sending money is as easy as buying XRP is a London exchange and sending it across the world where the receiver can convert it to the local currency.
Ripple, abbreviated XRP is now trading at $1.50, it’s value having more than tripled in less than two weeks. XRPs are capped at 100, 000,000,000. It is the fourth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization at US $58,055,644,64.
If it delivers on its promise for speed and scalability, we see ripple easily hitting $20 in 2018 as it replaces the antiquated SWIFT system. You certainly don’t want to miss out this coin investment in 2018.
In fact a consortium of 61 banks in Japan and South Korea are already testing the technology for use in payment transfers. UBS and Agricole have already adopted it.
The huge institutional backing gives Ripple a real chance of making it into the mainstream. The XRP coin is not just any other token popping up every so often. It’s got real utility. For this reason and from our analysis of trends, we think this cryptocurrency should on top of the list of your investments in 2018.
Invest in ICON (ICX)
You probably haven’t even heard of it but ICON abbreviated ICX is a gem waiting to be discovered. You must have already asked yourself exactly how the hundreds of cryptocurrencies are supposed to function. After all we do not have different fiat currencies for shopping, settling our water bills and paying rent.
ICON Chart by CoinMarketCap
Well, ICON promises to clear this conundrum by linking various blockchains. This much needed hyperconnection between blockchains together with its ability to do verification through the blockchain brings ICON closer to the real world.
ICX is now trading at $5.79 and the trendline suggests it will trade at $18 at the end of 2018.
Ark (ARK)
Ark has more or less similar aims as ICON. It promises to bring cryptocurrencies out of their pigeonholes by enabling multiple pairs. Think of executing an ethereum smart contract through the Litecoin network for example.
Invest in Omise Go (OMG)
This cryptocurrency which is mainly active in South East Asia powers payments services and value exchange in real time. The ethereum based network generates money through transactions. Investors will therefore earn more money as users increase. It is possible to exchange it either for fiat or other cryptocurrencies.
Omise Go will serve the massive population of unbanked people across the globe which the World Economic Forum estimates at around 2 billion. This population experiences huge difficulty making transactions.
International payments are impossible and they have to carry a huge stash of money which carries a lot of risk. But perhaps more importantly, payment transfers constitute a huge cost of transactions. The industry is so big at $3.6 million per year dominated by processors like MasterCard, Alipay and Western Union.
The centralised network they operate is the problem with inherent drawbacks like security, privacy, trust and of course cost. A public blockchain will be released early 2018 by OMG which will make staking possible.
There is obviously a clear void OMG is trying to fill. How well it will perform in the space is still anyone’s guess. For now, its utility we can say is clearly cut out.
Etherparty (FUEL)
Etherparty is another cryptocurrency that aims to bring the blockchain particularly the smart contracts functionality in ethereum based networks to the ordinary man on the street.
With Etherparty, you can create a self executing contract without any knowledge of code. This makes it usable for individuals and small enterprises who do not have the resources to write complex code. It has already partnered with the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, a move that is expected to accelerate the adoption of the smart contracts concept.
Invest in IOTA (MIOTA)
If you are one of those people who loves to take a peek into the future, you will already know that the internet of things is very much part of the picture. Billions of devices will be communicating with each other. IOTA provides the lacking but much needed underlying infrastructure that will make this communication possible.
In the machine-to-machine economy, IOTA will be working under the scenes to make payments among other things possible.
In fact IOTA does not use the blockchain technology but tangle which is much faster and flexible. Each transaction is confirmed by two nodes and there is no scalability issues.
IOTA is already partnering with big players like Microsoft, Samsung, Volkswagen and Cisco to develop this ecosystem around the Internet of Things. IOTA will deploy sensors at strategic places to collect crucial market data which is expected to see MIOTA, the cryptocurrency explode.
The Data Marketplace is another ambitious project that aims to unlocks the data silos which have seen them only being exploited by a few connected people.
IOTA is now trading at $3.80 and going by the trendline we expect if to hit at least $5 by December 2018. This will be one of the best coin investment in 2018.
Hubii (HBT)
Investing in Hubii is another option worth taking a look at. It is meant for the creatives – designers, musicians filmmakers – and aims to wrest the control from the stranglehold of the likes of Youtube, Netflix and Spotify. Big names like Floyd Mayweather are already behind it. He has even christened it the “Floyd crypto.”
Hubii is now trading at $0.4. The ICO was completed in September collecting a total of $50 million.