Share this article

The bearish trend may be about to end for cryptocurrencies. Well, at least for some of them. New predictions suggest that Cardano (ADA) and Ethereum (ETH) will treble in value in the next year or so, with privacy coins and Bitcoin (BTC) also expected to see strong price increases.

A panel of nine experts compiled a report for the price comparison website Finder.com. They gave forecasts on the top-ten largest cryptocurrencies by market cap. Most cryptocurrencies are expected to rise in the next month, with all but Litecoin (LTC) expected to see significant growth until the end of 2019.

ETH and ADA are the big winners

The experts saw most potential in platform tokens Ether and Cardano, with +300% price increases in the next 14 months. ADA tokens saw the fastest rise in the short term, with a 159% surge by the end of the year.

Although the report predicted Ethereum to come close to $400 by December, the panel was split on its long-term potential; predictions ranged from $1,200 to just $500 in Q4 2019. Joseph Raczynski, who have a bullish prediction for the next year said: “This is one of the best positioned of all the cryptocurrencies on the market. Nearly every large organisation is using it to test their own POCs [proofs-of-concept]. They have more developers than any other organisation. Still, think this is one of the best long-term plays of all.”

“I want to see it do well, but it will have to show significant improvement with the upcoming update to stay competitive,” said Alisa Gus, who predicted ETH would reach $500 in the next year.

The privacy coin Monero (XMR) also did very well. The report described it as “the quiet giant” and expected it to double by the end of the year. The panel expected a 295% increase by Q4 2019.

Bitcoin was also one of the main beneficiaries of the report. A 62% increase by the end of 2018 would take BTC’s total value up by approximately $70bn. The panel’s predictions for Q4 2019 would take it above the record high it reached in December of last year, with each coin worth just above $20,531

Despite many technological similarities with BTC, the experts didn’t see many positive changes for Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which would rise by 42%. Although Litecoin would rise by 6% by December, the panel forecasted a 3% drop by the end of Q4 2019. “I want to like this one, but it just doesn’t make as much sense to me,” said Raczynski. “I have not seen any real-world use for it as of yet that resonates.”

Bitcoin ETFs are pulling the market down.

The report said that a bear market would likely continue until the end of the year. Selected coins’ short-term performance would be hindered until the SEC, the American financial regulator makes a decision on Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Prices will recover once the question has been put to rest.

“Cryptocurrency is currently a bearish market, with our panellists’ BTC predictions for end of 2018 decreasing for the third consecutive month in a row”, said Jon Ostler, UK CEO of finder.com. “The issue of the pending ETF decision by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is still on our panellists’ minds, with some citing the decision as the main indicator of short-term performance and anticipating it to affect the market for months to come.”

The panel also argued that the recent price surge in the XRP token would be short-lived. The report predicted an 8% decline in value both in October and throughout the final quarter of this year. Many of the experts said they were sceptical whether the token could meet the market’s high expectations and valuation.

A crypto forecast is a prediction

As 2018 draws to a close, some of the forecasts taken right at the beginning of the year now seem far-fetched. Prognostications on a trillion-dollar market cap were made during a period of unusually high euphoria among investors.

In a more sober market, these new predictions might turn out to be more accurate. Some of the details ring true. The report picked up on the real-world use cases for privacy coins, which other research has also suggested. The SEC’s decision to delay its ETF ruling stopped the beginnings of a bull-run in its tracks in mid-August. With little idea how the regulator would go, uncertain traders and investors are holding investment away.

These are predictions, nonetheless. As Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse said during his Swell get-together this week: the proof will be in the pudding.

The author is invested in BTC and ETH, which are mentioned in this article.