This year marked my move into cryptocurrency as a serious investment. Previously, in January 2014 to be exact, I had only made a small investment into BTC. It was at about $750 then, having cooled down from its run up to $1K for the first time. I figured it was worth a shot. I have to say, there were times in the 3 & 1/2 years that followed when I wondered if I had made a mistake. So when BTC started cranking during the spring of '17, I took notice, and long story short, I started investing in some other coins as well. ETH was on fire too.
I started watching various YouTubers who were talking about cryptocurrency, and also did a lot of reading. Through purchases, ICOs and airdrops, I now have around 30 different coins or tokens, and I am very excited to see what 2018 holds. In my opinion, I think that 2018 will bring us an upsurge in the prices of a number of alt-coins, but at the same time we will see the demise of several currently existing alt-coins. Another feature of '17 was the explosion of new coins. When I started investing, I think there was around 800. Now there's 1300 listed on coinmarketcap.com, and many others that are not yet listed there. It has been raining alt-coins all year long.
As this year comes to a close, we're seeing one crypto-enthusiast's dream coming true, which is another enthusiast's nightmare: Here comes Wall Street, for real. BTC futures contracts selling on the CME and CBOE, and Wall Street heavyweights weighing in louder and more often than ever before on their opinion of BTC and other crypto. (My other prediction for '18 is another surge in popularity for privacy-coins. With Wall Street showing more interest than ever for a couple of the biggest coins, more regulation is bound to arrive soon, so I think that some long-time crypto investors and some newcomers who learn about and gravitate toward the interest in privacy will act accordingly.)
So, is this increasing connection with Wall Street a case of "be careful what you wish for" in the process of happening, or is it a good thing? The question will continue to be discussed, as it has been for quite some time. At the same time, the discussion of mass acceptance will also continue. And part of that discussion should be how the creators of various coins and tokens interact with -- choose your term; customers, supporters, investors? -- but I'm talking about the new ones who may not have a deep knowledge about the technology. We're here. And we are supportive and enthusiastic about what you're doing, and yes, we hope to make $. The word "moon" has taken on a new meaning for me and many others who have joined the crypto community.
Here's the issue that I have seen at times: Some of the tech leaders in crypto (though I would say it's a relatively small % of people this applies to) have wished on one hand for mass acceptance, but then as soon as a newbie contacts them with what they consider to be a "stupid question", the tech guru or "serial entrepreneur" gets annoyed, gives them a ration, and/or stops responding to them. Whatever you want to call what you've created, guys, whether it's a "community", a coin, token, a company, a value, choose your term, what you have actually started is a business. And as such, either you or someone who you hire should learn how to treat your supporters with some level of respect. Early this year I saw a crypto entrepreneur in a video online griping about "stupid" questions he was getting from the uninitiated (who had invested in his coin), and saying outright that he just didn't care, and didn't want to have to deal with them. My response to that kind of arrogant garbage was "note to self: NEVER buy anything that this guy is associated with."
Part of the attraction to cryptocurrencies for me and some other relative newcomers is the notion of being unbeholden to banks, centralization, etc. -- the sort of libertarian aspect, but also the community aspect-- so the collective enthusiasm that goes along with believing in the mission of the project that goes beyond decentralizing money or value. If we're really trying to change things for the better, surely that should involve better relations from the purportedly non-existent top down. In my opinion.
The mission of many of these coins or tokens, and for some the functionality or future functionality, is truly amazing and inspiring. I've always loved the idea of changing the world. Here's to 2018 and beyond!