Blockchain and cryptocurrency predictions for 2020: 22 industry experts have their say
- Posted in Blockchain
2019 has been a strong year for cryptocurrency and blockchain, with growing interest from mainstream companies, major product announcements and increased regulations. But what predictions do experts have for blockchain and cryptocurrency in 2020?
We heard from experts across the blockchain and cryptocurrency space about their predictions for 2020, from cybersecurity concerns to greater mainstream adoption.
2020 blockchain and cryptocurrency predictions
Further Bitcoin price rises
While 2019 was a transformative year for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, I believe 2020 could be even more monumental. Bitcoin was the best performing asset class by a wide margin, and this itself draws the interest of investors. It continues to unlock a global, open market for financial services during a period when many nations are closing their borders. Because of this, we would not be surprised to see the price of Bitcoin rise again.
Next year, we expect to see further expansion of global payments that do not come from legacy banking institutions. Bitcoin and other digital currencies have changed the financial landscape and shifted the way we look at all assets. The open-source ethos of cryptocurrency has put institutions on notice, and we expect all financial services to be disrupted forever.
We expect more banks to adopt the “If you can’t beat them, join them” policy in 2020. In this regard, we will also see more big names in the tech industry like Amazon coming into the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector. Every institution from Berkshire Hathaway to Barclays will be impacted by the evolution happening in these markets, and we see this trend accelerating regardless of regulation, security or price volatility. Of course, we still see many jurisdictions pushing back on cryptocurrency through regulations, but we do believe by year-end 2020, we will see a Bitcoin ETF listed in the United States. This event could be the catalyst to push Bitcoin above $14,000.
One of the main drivers for this expectation is that similar ETFs have already been approved in Europe, and we also believe that the demand for this investment is widespread amongst traditional investors and institutional investors – we expect regulators will be willing to forge a compromise. It is worth noting that the largest accounting firms – Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG – have already adopted digital currency accounting platforms. In addition, we see the derivatives market as a stabiliser, which should also help regulators to look favourably on a Bitcoin ETF.
Quantum computing to shape future cryptocurrencies
Quantum computing will become impossible to ignore in 2020. Google just made a major breakthrough in quantum supremacy, publishing the results of a test where its 54-qubit processor performed a computation in 200 seconds that it says would have previously taken 10,000 years. The imminence of quantum computing holds major implications for the cryptocurrency industry.
Today, cryptocurrencies’ pseudo-random generation of keys leaves them susceptible to exploitation by hackers. Quantum computing increases the likelihood of predicting software-generated values, presenting major security concerns. In 2020, the first public quantum computers are coming onto the market.
With Amazon’s latest cloud service, Braket, providing quantum computers to the public, expect to see traditional blockchain networks challenged by quantum-secure networks. Quantum-secure networks, such as those that leverage quantum entanglement to generate provable random numbers and next-generation hashing algorithms, will be poised to succeed in an era of quantum computing.
While I certainly hope that the cryptocurrency market rebounds in 2020, Bitcoin may continue its struggles due to its issues with speed, scalability, and resource requirements. Bitcoin originally set out to take on legacy payment systems, but it has not successfully achieved this. Transactions on the Bitcoin network can take up to 10-15 minutes, making it ill-equipped for mainstream payments. Bitcoin also requires high entry points for network participation, which equates to massive computational power. Bitcoin has also faced issues over the last few years with scalability, which can’t be easily solved.
