Future of cryptocurrency? Where to now?

Hey guys,

Watching the markets closely and absorbing the overall sentiment I have gathered my thoughts and predictions for all the upcoming hardforks.

DISCLAIMER: Please note I am not a financial advisor and none of this should be taken as financial advice as they are my opinions and always do your own research as you should only be investing with money you can afford to lose.

WHAT IS A HARDFORK?

I like to keep things simple - so I will be using as many lay terms as possible. A hard fork is usually a change in the code. It can mean a new coin being created as we saw with Bitcoin cash coming off Bitcoin in August or an update as we have coming up the Ethereum Metropolis upgrade.

PREDICTION 1 (ETHEREUM)

Ethereum will rocket. The upgrade is set for the 17th of October 2017.

If they can deliver on this much awaited Metropolis upgrade it can mean great things for Ethereum.

• Shifting away from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake (word has it this might be delayed for another year) however it has been made much more difficult
• Scalability and faster transaction times

You might see bitcoins price ease and Ethereum get the much deserved love it has not received. It is like a broken record, except it's not broken. Simples. Ethereum is an amazing cryptocurrency which serves multiple purposes. It's so appealing that there is even an Ethereum alliance with some of the major corporations partnering with it.

Link: https://entethalliance.org

PREDICTION 2 (ALTERNATE COINS)

Alternate coins (anything other than bitcoin) such as Stratis or NEO will bleed this weekend in the lead up to Bitcoin Gold (BTG). The hardfork is set to occur on the 25th of October 2017. I see this as an excellent time to accumulate these alt coins as some are excellent investments with real world applications currently being used. Check out OmiseGo (OMG) the ticker says a lot about it - OH MY GOD... Not sure if they intended for that. Also Vitalik (Founder of Ethereum) is an advisor.

I am expecting a few days after the 25th of October a significant rally in alternate coins. It's hard to predict for how long but I think it could last up to a week at best. As we head into November however I expect another slump. The reason behind this is we have one more hardfork for bitcoin. Some joke if there were more girls in cryptocurrency we would spoon more than forking... but boys will be boys.

This however is a significant hardfork as we see the challenge for the application of Segwit2x which aims for larger block sizes and lowering transaction fees (Currently it costs $5 to transfer BTC - That's a cup of coffee!). However there are some concerns for the code and vulnerabilities from such a change as there is some conflict of interest within the development team and their funding. There is a lot of debate and as we enter this uncertainty I expect another pullback in alt coins. Once this dust settles and we either end up with a Segwit activated bitcoin or the original bitcoin remains intact I expect a MONSTER RALLY. Expect a lambo being sent to the moon everyday.

PREDICTION 3 (BITCOIN)

Bitcoin will hit very close to $10000. All these forks are seen as free money as you end up with a dividend payment of a sort of the coin. There is a possibility of a dump following the fork on the 25th of October but there will be many looking to load up again for the next fork in November. Once the Segwit2x fork occurs it is difficult to comment on the future of bitcoin.

It is worthwhile noting that bitcoin is at an all time high and is the most difficult to predict with the potential to pullback before another lift off. There are claims we are in a bubble but I disagree at this moment. With a market capitalisation for all cryptocurrencies less than $200bn I don't think we are quite there yet. The relative gain however in a few years is phenomenal and I think we still have room for growth. Let's prove the naysayers wrong.

Cryptocurrency looks to provide the average man with financial freedom and represent a new emerging technology that will disrupt several industries 'the blockchain'. It's exciting to see what the future holds.

Thanks for reading guys. Please leave me a comment about what you would like me to post about next time and if you think I should clarify a particular area that is not so clear.

Anyone in Australia who is completely new to cryptocurrency and looking to get started check out my other blog:
https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@banglasteve/how-to-buy-cryptocurrency-in-australia

TLDR:
PREDICTION 1 - Ethereum should take off! Bitcoin will either ease or be reinvested into Ethereum.
PREDICTION 2 - Alt coins to rally for a week after 25th of October 2017, retrace and then monster rally after Bitcoin hardfork in November.
PREDICTION 3 - Bitcoin might hit $10,000, but no clear indication what will happen after the Hardfork in November.

Stay tested and vested.

All are welcome to my FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/253342165192623/

Cryptoshaf