Cryptocurrency in 2018: Six Trends that Shaped the Year
With another year behind us, it’s a perfect time to look at all of the incredible developments that defined the digital currency industry in 2018. We began the year with record prices and extraordinary growth, at the tail end of one of the greatest bull markets in trading history.
By February, however, traders were faced with a sustained slowdown. Yet while values and volatility weren’t always where traders wanted them to be, the behind-thescenes development of the cryptocurrency industry continued at a furious pace, pushing adoption and utility to new heights.
Overall, it was a year that was often thrilling and sometimes concerning, but never less than a worthwhile ride.
- Prices are down, but adoption and development is up
- A Dramatic Increase in Cryptocurrency Use in Countries Battling Hyperinflation
- Mass Adoption is Coming
- A Reduction in Market Volatility
- Survivor: Crypto Edition
Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash: What’s the Difference?
For newer digital currency traders, it’s sometimes difficult to keep track of the differences between various coins and tokens.
One example: Bitcoin, the oldest and most famous of all cryptocurrencies, shares its name with several other coins, including Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Private, Bitcoin Diamond and, the most popular variant of all, Bitcoin Cash.
Yet while these coins share a name, they differ in some key respects and that’s something every trader should consider before choosing to purchase a digital asset.
With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the key distinctions between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.
What is a Hard Fork — and How Does it Affect the Cryptocurrency Market?
If you’re a digital asset trader, Forks you’ve likely noticed some changes with regard to Bitcoin Cash. A little more than a year ago, Bitcoin Cash was created by splitting the Bitcoin blockchain in two. Now, history has repeated, with the Bitcoin Cash chain splitting in two and a new coin, Bitcoin SV, entering the market.
If you’re not a digital currency expert, these splits can be somewhat puzzling. Are the new projects clones? Copies? Close cousins?
Types of Cryptocurrency Forks
There are two types of cryptocurrency forks: Soft forks and hard forks. Both are changes to the underlying software protocol, but they differ dramatically in their effect. Soft forks are backwardscompatible changes that don’t make existing rules obsolete. Hard forks, on the other hand, are a permanent, nonbackwards compatible change that results in the creation of a new version of an existing blockchain. This new version is called a “fork.”
