"I talk to hedge funds, high net worth individuals, even commodity speculators. They look at the volatility in the crypto markets and they see it as a huge opportunity. Once that happens, all hell will break loose”.

Bill Barhydt, CEO of American Express backed cryptocurrency wallet, ‘Abra’, has today told Business Insider UK of his prediction that the worlds cryptocurrency markets are teetering on the edge of a great expansion, he expects that when it happens, all hell is going to break loose, in a good way we think. At the moment, Barhydt recognises a wealth of investors who are currently just watching the markets from the stands. We are in the midst of a decline in the value of cryptocurrencies universally, poignant when you consider that before Christmas, the entire market was valued at over $800 Billion and now stands at just $300 Billion yet Barhydt believes that this decline acts only as an inspiration for investors to get involved. When the markets are scraping the barrel, there’s a great amount of headroom through which the market has space to grow, and at a rapid speed at that. This is what Barhydt had to say to Business Insider UK:I can’t quite work out what sort of hell he is referring to, market expansion will be a good thing, eventually, but I suspect by this, he is referring to a free-for-all, with investors and traders jumping around the markets like children on Christmas day. It’s a nice metaphor though. Barhydt takes comfort from the fact that investors are talking to him, he sees this as an indication that all cryptocurrency prices are now on the road to recovery. According to Barhydt, this road actually leads to mainland Europe, the area in which he expects most new investment to take place. This is based on the notion that most investment comes from Asia at the moment, Barhydt believes that once mainland Europe start to get serious then the expansion will happen. He refers to the expansion as a ‘halo effect’ that will surround the cryptocurrency markets. Within this effect, the big currencies will grow fast, but the big currencies will take the smaller ones with them. In short, Barhydt reckons that this is going to happen, sooner rather than later and that when it does, competition will be fierce, the markets will become live and rather rowdy. Let’s hope his predictions are true and that 2018 see’s not just a spike in the cryptocurrency market value, but a continuum of growth within the entire industry.