2018 could be the year for Qtum. The business focused blockchain developer aims to take the best bits of Ethereum and Bitcoin, with a little twist. Whilst it has been predicted that Qtum could overtake both Bitcoin and Ethereum, they are the foundation of it. It takes Bitcoins core infrastructure, with Ethereum’s Virtual Machine in order to deliver a blockchain that is really rich with possibilities, thanks to smart contracts. The thing that really makes Qtum stand out though is the mobile applications that come with it. It features a Simple Payment Verification protocol, which allows the smart contracts to be executed in lite wallets via mobile applications. Half of all internet traffic is generated from mobile devices, so, by reaching out to this, makes them really stand out as being more accessible than others. The Account Abstraction Layer, opens doors to allow blockchain apps to be accessible where they’ve never been before.This does not mean that this virtual currency is without risks. It is still in the process of fine tuning the blockchain technology that is associated with it, and is still seeking out its first major partner. It is also worth noting that there is a genuine disassociation between its virtual coins, and their blockchains that then makes it very difficult to actually value this new asset class. When you buy into normal stocks, you own a percentage of that company, but when you buy into cryptocurrencies, you are not getting a stake of the blockchain in the same way. This then makes deriving a fair valuation for these virtual currencies very challenging, which leads to volatility. This is no different for Qtum.