As 2017 comes to a close, and 2018 is fast approaching, we at LocalCoin have put together a review of major events in the 2017 cryptocurrency world. Here are some of the major headlines that appeared this year:

The Digital Gold Rush

Over the course of 2017, Bitcoin saw a large influx of global support. The value of 1 bitcoin rose sharply, from $900 USD in January to over $20,000 USD in December, before leveling off again.

While Bitcoin’s internal split had initially brought some concerns, the overall trajectory remains the same. Bitcoin is still projected for tremendous growth, and 2017 has largely proven this assumption true. The fair warning is that Bitcoin, along with many other cryptocurrencies, had a steep drop in value in the middle of December; it’s now hovering around the $15,000 USD mark. This is widely attributed to natural market cycles, wherein steep climbs in value are generally met with a “correction”.

Convenience is Key

With the growing demand for cryptocurrencies, many ATMs have started appearing in local convenience stores and grocery chains. While many websites require tedious set-up and vetting procedures, or have daily or weekly limits, these ATMs provide people with the freedom to purchase as many bitcoins as they’d like without providing any personal information.



With more of these Bitcoin ATMs appearing every month, there is increasing liquidity and accessibility within the world of crypto.

You Go Left, I’ll Go Right… I Guess.

Bitcoin saw two forks this year which led to the creation of Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold. The aim of Bitcoin Gold was to further the decentralization of cryptocurrencies, claiming the mining process of Bitcoin wasn’t entirely decentralized to begin with. Unfortunately as a standalone coin, Bitcoin Gold hasn’t seen as much success on the market place. On the other hand, Bitcoin Cash was the result of an internal scalability dispute. Bitcoin Cash has set its block size limit to 8 MB to increase the number of transactions its ledger can process. Their split has been widely supported in the marketplace, with their coin rising in value since initial launch frailties. Bitcoin Cash is now available on Coinbase as their fourth supported currency.

FUD with China

Back in September, a ban in China had caused a sharp decrease in the market values of several cryptocurrencies. After China’s announcement of banning all cryptocurrency exchanges and ICOs, it created a sense of fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) that threatened the future of the market. Certain Chinese coins (notably NEO) took a huge dip, but have gradually recovered.



This regulation has prevented some Chinese startups from raising funds, but the market has proven to be stronger than the government of China. This showed that people were working around the China ban.

Bust of the Year?

According to JP Morgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, “Bitcoin is a fraud that will ultimately blow up”. He claimed that the digital currency was used by “criminals, murderers and people living in North Korea”. He also claimed that the bitcoin craze is going to be “worst than tulip bulbs”, referring to the market bubble back in the 1600s.



When the world’s 10th largest financial services company’s CEO took such a bold stance against Bitcoin, it was no surprise that it made headlines. Dimon’s statements actually lowered Bitcoin’s market price by as much as 6%, back in September, but has not stopped the overall growth of the cryptocurrency. Dimon predicted a loss for bitcoin investors. “It could be at $20,000 before this happens, but it will eventually blow up”, he said. The price of Bitcoin has since surpassed that total, before year’s end.

What’s Next?

2018 will be riding the coattails of a large crypto boom established earlier this year. The safe bet is that Crypto will continue its climb regardless of occasional decreases in value. Ripple (XRP) is a coin worth keeping an eye on; it’s been on the rise in recent weeks. Ripple allows banks, and other financial institutions, to quickly work through transactions in both the sending and receiving of currency. It’s quick and much cheaper than the existing back end systems employed. Its appeal to the financial institutions stems from its ability to process transactions in a matter of seconds. Transactions for Bitcoin, however, can remain unconfirmed for hours, days. Ripple is also rumored to appear on Coinbase within a few weeks. It is worth noting that there will never be any new Ripple coins created. Furthermore, of the 100 billion Ripple coins created, 60 billion are owned by Ripple Labs, and will not be released to the public.

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If you’re looking to get more into cryptocurrencies then make sure to check out these websites.

Online Exchange (Altcoins): www.binance.com or www.bittrex.com

Market price: www.coinlib.io or www.coinmarketcap.com

News: www.coindesk.com or https://cointelegraph.com/

Canadian ATMs and exchange (BTC, ETH, LTC) : www.localcoinatm.com

Local Coin Team

Have a great holiday!