Bitcoin (BTC) is set to reassert its dominance over the cryptocurrency market in 2019 according to a recent report by management consultancy firm A.T. Kearney. Reviewing the leading digital token’s recent performance, analysts believe the price of Bitcoin will rally as the new year dawns. Fueling the recent wave of optimism, according to the report, are two factors.
“By the end of 2019, Bitcoin will reclaim nearly two-thirds of the crypto-market capitalization as altcoins lose their luster because of growing risk aversion among cryptocurrency investors,” it reads.
Regulatory Change Could Buoy Bitcoin
As well as growing apathy towards altcoins, analysts believe more people will buy Bitcoin in 2019 because of changing attitudes among financial regulators. In 2018, the regulatory landscape has proved a tricky one to navigate for the leading cryptos. Ripple and the American Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) have been embroiled in a back-and-forth debate over the status of XRP. Although the former is a separate entity to the digital coin, it does have a controlling share of XRP. Based on this, some have suggested XRP is security and should, therefore, abide by established financial regulations.
Although an official decision hasn’t been made at the time of writing, it’s expected that SEC will rule that XRP isn’t a security. However, the saga has showed that clear financial regulations are needed if cryptocurrencies are going to become mainstream products. According to A.T. Kearney, financial regulators are expected to soften their stance towards the industry by the close of 2019. For Bitcoin, this would allow it to forge new relationships with governments, banks and major corporations. Indeed, as researchers at Imperial College London have stated, regulation is one of six “tests” any crypto needs to pass if it’s going to replace fiat currencies.
Stability Continues to Offer BTC a Lifeline
While global regulation is unlikely to happen in 2019, the winds of change have started to blow. What’s more, the relative stability is likely to keep investors interested moving into the new year. Following a crash at the start of 2018, few coins managed to establish a base in the proceeding month. Although the price of BTC took a significant hit during the market downturn, the dollar value remained relatively stable during the second and third quarters of 2018. In contrast, Ethereum (ETH) has lost its place as the second most valuable coin by market cap. Despite remaining strong in the early part of the year, network congestion and scaling issues have seen it slip to third behind XRP in December.
Between the continued volatility of competing cryptos and the potential for regulatory change in the coming months, experts are confident that Bitcoin will see a price spike before the end of 2019. Could that possibly mean the crypto will breach the $20,000 mark? Perhaps not. However, investors old and new can certainly take solace in stability moving forward.
Even though the token is worth less than it was at the close of 2017, the bearish market hasn’t savaged its fortunes as much as some altcoins. With that being the case, there is certainly some merit to the assumption that Bitcoin will reassert its dominance in 2019.
Featured image source: Pixabay
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