3 October 2018, LONDON –

• Price comparison site finder.com releases October Cryptocurrency Predictions Survey including forecasts for the end of 2018, 10 coins forecast
• Bitcoin (BTC) predicted to hit US$10,319 (£7,951) by end of the year, a rise of 61%
• Cardano (ADA) expected to see the greatest growth by end of 2018, at 159%
• XRP (XRP) and Litecoin (LTC) forecasted to see a fall of -8 percent and -3 percent over the next month

After a stable September for the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) is expected to hit US$10,319 (£7,951) by the end of the year. This is according to the experts on personal finance comparison site finder.com’s latest monthly Cryptocurrency Predictions Survey.

While some of the nine panellists gave predictions for BTC as high as US$20,000 (£15,384) by the end of 2018, this is balanced by more conservative predictions from other panellists, with the lowest coming in at US $5,200 (£4,000).

Despite a downward trend over the past three months, with panellists’ BTC predictions for end-of-year decreasing for the third consecutive month, the panellists’ gave positive forecasts by the end of 2018 for almost all coins, suggesting a more optimistic outlook moving into next year.

Cardano is expected to see the greatest growth by the end of 2018, at 159 percent to US$0.20 (£0.15). This is followed by Monero (XMR) and Ethereum (ETH), with forecasted growth of 93 percent and 79 percent, respectively. XRP (XRP) is the only coin set to experience long term decline, with a projected decrease of -8 percent by the end of 2018.

In terms of short-term performance by November 1 2018, Monero (XMR) and Ethereum (ETH) are expected to increase the most (43 percent and 37 percent, respectively). The smallest increases come from Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and EOS (EOS), which are both set to see an increase of only 1 percent. XRP (XRP) and Litecoin (LTC) are expected to see a fall over the next month, with forecasted drops of -8 percent and -3 percent, respectively.

Many attribute poor short-term performance to the upcoming decision about two exchange-traded funds (ETF) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and anticipate the decision to affect the market over the coming months.

Comparing the forecast market capitalisations** for bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ethereum (ETH) – the only three of the 10 coins with reported number of coins available – Ethereum (ETH) is predicted to see the highest growth by the end of the year (79 percent). This is followed by bitcoin (BTC) with a 62 percent increase, and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), with an increase of 17 percent.

The nine panellists in the October Cryptocurrency Predictions Report include:

• • Craig Cobb: Founder of TraderCobb.com, designed to educate people on crypto trading in a way that is simple, easy and logical
  • Alisa Gus: CEO of WishKnish, a blockchain gamified social market network aimed at helping communities grow, and founding member of the DC Digital Economy Hub
  • Fred Schebesta: Co-founder of global comparison site finder.com and OTC cryptocurrency trading platform HiveEx.com. Award-winning entrepreneur
  • Joseph Raczynski: Technologist, futurist, Joetechnologist.com and Reuters, technology consultant and manager specialising in Blockchain technology
  • Sarah Bergstrand: COO of BitBull Capital, a crypto hedge fund with a research-focus, background in venture-backed tech companies
  • Joerg Molt: CEO of the Satoshi School, launched to teach people the basics of blockchain technology and how they can benefit from the speed and efficiency of the currency
  • Richard Galvin: CEO of Digital Asset Capital Management, an investment manager in the digital currency sector
  • Nir Rozin: Founder of Spaceship Dealers, a crypto investment fund and venture capital advisory
  • Genson Glier: Co-founder and CEO of BlockToken.AI, a next-generation token issuance platform that aims to simplify ICOs

The full details of the survey, complete with comments from the panellists, can be found here: https://www.finder.com/uk/cryptocurrency-predictionsJon Ostler, UK CEO at finder.com says, “Cryptocurrency is currently a bearish market, with our panellists’ BTC predictions for end of 2018 decreasing for the third consecutive month in a row.”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.
“Finder runs this monthly report to help people understand the current cryptocurrency market, and collect the opinions of experts on how it may change in the future. However, when reading this report, people should be aware of the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies. When considering the purchase of cryptocurrency, people should always be prepared to do their own research and decide what’s right based on their personal financial circumstances.”
For more information on finder’s cryptocurrency predictions, please visit https://www.finder.com/uk/cryptocurrency-predictions.