Cryptocurrency on ‘Brink of an Implosion’

INTERNATIONAL – Echoing sentiments of mainstream economists, Juniper Research is warning that many of the metrics in the cryptocurrency world are pointing to a market implosion.

Industry bellwether Bitcoin had seen its daily transaction volumes fall from an average of about 360 000 a day in late 2017 to just 230 000 in September 2018. 

Meanwhile, daily transaction values were down from more than $3.7 billion (R48bn) to less than $670 million in the same period, Juniper said in the study, The Future of Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin & Altcoin Trends & Challenges 2018-2023.

The market as a whole has contracted quickly as well. In the first quarter, cryptocurrency transactions totalled just more than $1.4 trillion, compared with less than $1.7trln for 2017 as a whole, Juniper said. However, by the second quarter, transaction values had plummeted by 75 percent, with total market capitalisation falling to just less than $355bn.

“Based on activity during the first half of Q3, Juniper…