John Jacques's Avatar
published in Blogs
Feb 04, 2019

Crypto infrastructure grows as values fall

Bitcoin’s ups and downs over the past two years have been well-chronicled. 2017’s meteoric rise peaked in January 2018, followed by precipitous drops, slight recoveries, and everything in between. But focusing on bitcoin’s price volatility – value has decreased by 80-plus percent since that peak – misses the point, says seasoned crypto software engineer Jameson Lopp. In fact, Lopp argues that bitcoin has never been stronger than it was in 2018 – if you look at metrics independent from economics.

Lopp, who is CTO at crypto security firm Casa, described bitcoin in a Medium post as being “at the forefront of an increasingly complex ecosystem that continues to grow in a variety of ways. And for the tenth straight year, it stubbornly refused to die.” That growth took many forms. Google Trends indicate that search results have increased in developing countries; the bitcoin subreddit experienced 61 percent growth in 2018. Academic interest was at an all-time high, “which is great for the long-term prospects of this industry as we continue to gain a greater understanding of what we’re building,” says Lopp.

Venture capital and ICO-based funding for the blockchain industry reached new heights last year, at $3.1 billion and $16.7 million, respectively. 90 percent of blockchain-related companies may have failed, says Lopp, but investment figures indicate belief in blockchain’s potential – and trust in the companies unlocking it. Lopp points out that market volatility means people typically flee “more speculative crypto assets to the relative ‘safe haven’ of BTC,” indicating a trust in bitcoin as a digital store of value while “[resulting] in the relative share of the market value going up.” Blockchain security has improved, creating “more accurate statistics of on-chain activity.” Data anchoring and software upgrades have increased, as well as code commits, indicating a vibrant, worldwide network of developers interested in contributing to blockchain’s ongoing evolution.

Significant infrastructural improvements aside, the economic side of bitcoin was undeniably disappointing. But there were some notable exceptions. Trading volume declined overall in a bear market, but Localbitcoins data indicates that Colombia, India, Peru, and Venezuela actually increased their respective trading volumes. Offline peer-to-peer markets also showed positive signs of development – Lopp tweeted that the number of bitcoin ATMs doubled to 4,000 units, “continuing a [three] year trend of 100 percent year over year growth.” 

Bitcoin’s exchange rate took a tumble in 2018. But to Lopp, “exchange rate is just one of many metrics we can use to observe the evolution of this ecosystem.” The sexiness of January’s peak has worn off for everyone, but a growing system with better infrastructure means death announcements are premature. “We have no control over the market,” says Lopp. “But I expect that it will catch up to us sooner or later.”

Unsure of What Cryptocurrencies to Buy and Sell, and When to Buy and Sell Them? Ask A.I.

Tickeron has developed Artificial Intelligence capable of spotting patterns and trends in the cryptocurrency markets, and the A.I. can deliver trade ideas straight to your inbox. When the AI confirms a bullish or bearish pattern, it will alert users to the pattern and provide a target price for where it thinks the cryptocurrency is headed. Users can use the AI to track just about any cryptocurrency of your choice.

You can learn more and even start a 45-day free trial today. Get started on tickeron.com.  

Related Tickers: BTC.X
John Jacques's Avatar
published in Blogs
May 16, 2022
A.I. Stock Market Predictions: Head & Shoulders

A.I. Stock Market Predictions: Head & Shoulders

Statistics for the Head-and-Shoulders Bottom Pattern The days where only hedge funds used algorithms to trade stocks are officially over. Now retail investors can use Artificial Intelligence (A.I.  Here’s an example of the algorithm in action: Late last year, Tickeron’s A.I.
Edward Flores's Avatar
published in Blogs
Apr 29, 2022
How to Become the Millionaire Next Door

How to Become the Millionaire Next Door

The Golden Gate Bridge is always a fixture of these walks too, one of man's most beautiful creations.  As we were walking, at one point she turned to me and said, "Man, I'll never have a million dollars."" My girlfriend is 27 years old and works as a graphic designer, making about $75,000 a year.
Sergey Savastiouk's Avatar
published in Blogs
May 16, 2022
When Is the Next Recession Coming?

When Is the Next Recession Coming?

However, we also know that economists predicted 22 recessions out of 11 that took place since 1945. Are there real recession signs we should watch for?Indeed, the answer is yes, and here are a few very important ones: The first one is almost obvious and known to everyone – it is the Fed.
Sergey Savastiouk's Avatar
published in Blogs
Mar 14, 2023
How to Start Trading Penny Stocks

How to Start Trading Penny Stocks

Penny stocks have long been marginalized within the professional investment community, oftentimes being painted with a broad brush of simply being “too risky.” Leonardo DiCaprio’s depiction of the penny stock peddling conman, Jordan Belfort, in the Wolf of Wall Street certainly didn’t help.Here are four reasons to start trading them now. Reason #1: Let’s State the Obvious -- Penny Stocks are Cheap A single share of Apple Inc. costs over $350.
Dmitry Perepelkin's Avatar
published in Blogs
Mar 14, 2023
5 Habits that Lead to Successful Investing

5 Habits that Lead to Successful Investing

To consistently make money in this industry, you need emotional fortitude, an analytical mind, and a willingness to self-reflect. Despite trading and investing being two different activities, these principles can be applied to both.Conversely, investors with good habits often become great traders.  Rather than full sentences for titles, we’ve labeled each of our top-five investing habits using a single word principle.
Allana's Avatar
published in Blogs
Mar 23, 2023
What’s the Difference Between Data Analytics and Machine Learning?

What’s the Difference Between Data Analytics and Machine Learning?

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is developing rapidly.Data mining can deliver raw numbers, but it does not necessarily provide actionable insights. Structure is necessary to taking abstract information and extracting commonalities, like averages, ratios, and percentages.
Sergey Savastiouk's Avatar
published in Blogs
Mar 13, 2023
4 Tips for Fast, Effective Stock Analysis

4 Tips for Fast, Effective Stock Analysis

With just a few clicks, an investor can search for individual stocks, categories of stocks, sectors, or investment themes, and then he or she can conduct a full range of technical and fundamental analysis within seconds.All powered by Artificial Intelligence.  Below, we give you 5 tips for fast, effective stock analysis using Tickeron’s Screener.
Sergey Savastiouk's Avatar
published in Blogs
Mar 20, 2023
5 Golden Principles in Investing

5 Golden Principles in Investing

You have enough faith in that stock, based on research, that the return will equal or exceed the investment.  Do unto others.The principles outlined here will ensure that happens.  Principle #1: Diversification Investors can’t be one-dimensional when constructing a portfolio.
John Jacques's Avatar
published in Blogs
Mar 24, 2023
If Hedge Funds are Using AI to Invest, Why Shouldn’t You?

If Hedge Funds are Using AI to Invest, Why Shouldn’t You?

Some of the world’s biggest financial institutions have devoted multi-million dollar budgets to developing algorithms that can find patterns in the market, identify trends, and perform automated trading designed to take advantage of even the smallest price movements. The AI revolution is so big that as it stands today, the world’s five biggest hedge funds all use systems-based approaches to trade financial markets.Indeed, quantitative trading hedge funds now manage $918 billion (according to HFR), which amounts to 30% of the $3 trillion hedge fund industry – a percentage continues to grow with each year that passes.
Sergey Savastiouk's Avatar
published in Blogs
Mar 15, 2023
The five most important Lessons Learned After 10,000 hours of Trading

The five most important Lessons Learned After 10,000 hours of Trading

Ten thousand hours of active trading, broken down into forty-hour weeks, amounts to almost five years. Having surpassed that milestone myself, I now understand why it's significant for any trader's journey. The early years taught me valuable lessons that have shaped my approach to trading. It's a misconception that great traders are born with innate talent. The truth is that it takes years of...