GETTY Ethereum's fall is expected to continue

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The report predicts a massive rise in the value of Bitcoin Cash, and a fall in once “unique” Ethereum. In a report titled Cryptocurrencies: Past, Present and Future researchers claim to use historical data and a "data-driven algorithm" to predict that Bitcoin Cash will hit "$2000 per unit by May 2018”, marking from the beginning of the data set, a “130 percent jump in price”. The research is less optimistic about Ethereum’s future price, which they say, "will plummet by more than $237 per unit in the next month or so." ETH has lost a staggering 47.22 percent in value so far this month and is now priced at $459, a shadow of the $1,338.67 high hit in December.

Ethereum originally stood out for allowing 'blocks' to be created quicker, but compare that to the likes of Bitcoin Cash, or even for transaction speed - Ripple and Litecoin - and suddenly even that isn't so unique anymore. Callum Blanchard, Cryptocurrency Data Specialist

Callum Blanchard, Cryptocurrency Data Specialist for Cryptocurrency: Past, Present and Future says that “it's not hugely surprising” to see Ethereum falling. He said cryptocurrencies are currently feeling the threat of regulations, as well as the fact that there are constant warnings about their inherent volatility - which can easily “spook people and prevent them from investing”. On Ethereum’s place in the family of digital currencies, Mr Blanchard says Ethereum, when it was first founded, was seen as one of the few direct competitors to bitcoin. However, he said: “With so many cryptocurrencies available, the public and investors are demanding more unique features than ever, and it is becoming harder to distinguish one virtual currency from the next. “For example, Ethereum originally stood out for allowing 'blocks' to be created quicker, but compare that to the likes of Bitcoin Cash, or even for transaction speed - Ripple and Litecoin - and suddenly even that isn't so unique anymore.”

GETTY Vitalik Buterin: Has Ethereum lost what made it unique?

At a recent event in Tokyo, gathering Bitcoin Cash experts from around the world and appropriately named the “Satoshi’s Vision Conference”, Bitcoin.com’s CEO Roger Ver told the crowd that Bitcoin Cash (BCH) can increase economic freedom worldwide. He said: “We’ve heard about a lot of people that were involved in what used to be a digital currency mock the idea of using it as a currency. “I think the people in this room are excited about digital currencies, not ‘store of value’ currencies that don’t work very well at storing value if they’re not being used as a currency.” In December last year self-proclaimed bitcoin creator Craig Wright predicted that 2018 would be Bitcoin Cash’s year after tweeting, “2018 is the year we bring Bitcoin to its full potential. BCH will have more security and no more issues with limits on what it can achieve”. At the Tokyo event Dr. Wright is reported to have entered the room to the Metallica song ‘Enter Sandman’, and, according to bitcoin.com the speaker before him quipped, “Satoshi may or may not be speaking after me”. Championing BCH Dr Wright told the audience: “Bitcoin is all I work on, bitcoin is my life — For the next 10, 20, 30 years, bitcoin is all I will work on — My goal is for five billion people to use bitcoin daily.”

GETTY ETH was once the new kid on the bitcoin block