If 2017 was the year of bitcoin, 2018 could be the year of a joke digital currency created in honour of an excitable dog. Or maybe investors will pour their money into Trumpcoins and Putincoins instead.

Private investors who are seeking to emulate the rapid rise of bitcoin are betting on obscure digital currencies in the hope that they become the next big thing. Many are cashing in some or all of their bitcoin holdings as they seek to ride the next wave.

Digital or “crypto” currencies have no physical form and exist only as strings of computer code. Most were launched with the goal of becoming decentralised currencies over which governments and corporations could exert no control. However, millions of investors across the world