I brainstormed, researched and gathered ideas on the interwebs to find the Top 8 Trending Cryptocurrency Topics. I also linked to one (or more) useful articles on each topic.

Here is what I came up with:

1) Security Token Offerings (STOs) - The Wallstreetization of Blockchains is upon us! This is not surprising, though, considering how regulated financial instruments (like stocks and securities) are. STO’s are filling the void that other Cryptos, like Bitcoin, haven’t satisfied (namely fitting the current regulatory framework).

 

2) Stable Coins - Is 2019 the “Year of The Stable Coin”? With 2018 thrashing investors, it’s not a surprise that people are now demanding more stable Cryptocurrencies. After all, who wants to see their 20k Bitcoin go to under $4k? Whether you’re a miner, hodler, institutional, or retail investor, stability is definitely valuable.

 

3) Regulation - The “R” word (I hear the cringes and boos from the anarchists). Unfortunately, the ease of issuing tokens by anyone and the hubris/ignorance of the masses has created a perfect storm for scammers (See: Bitconnect). Still, regulation is an important issue that many US (and other) government agencies are carefully scrutinizing and cracking down on.

 

4) Privacy Coins - Muh privacy! The emergence of regulation has (ironically) accelerated the need and demand for private ownership and transactions. Bitcoin is not anonymous despite many who say it is. And it’s not just the anarchists and cypherpunks demanding privacy either, even folks like JP Morgan, see the value in private financial transactions. Viva la resistance!

 

5) Bear Season continues - If 2018 didn’t convince you we’re in bear season, the continuation of low price action into 2019 might give you a clue. How long will it last? No one knows. But we do know that when markets are ready to take off, they can do so extremely fast.

 

6) Institutional Money Is Here - A Nasdaq Bitcoin futures platform is on the horizon. Fidelity is launching a Crypto Investment Platform for their clients. Bakkt got $182 million. Other countries are ramping up friendly Crypto regulations to attract investment. It’s happening! Combine this with the incoming STO craze and boy I bet it’s gonna be frothy.

 

7) The Mainstream News Media thinks Bitcoin is dead (again) - The mainstream media seems to revel in Bitcoin’s crashes and bear markets. They always say the same thing: “Bitcoin is Dead”. Makes me wonder if they are purposely pushing negative news during downtimes. The reverse is also true, like when CNBC ran stories on how to buy Ripple at $3 (now at sub $.40, ouchy). On Bloomberg an anchor said Nvidia stock was going up because “GPUs are used in Bitcoin mining”. LOL

 

8) Cybersecurity - This is one of the most important needs for Cryptocurrency ownership and usage. Scams, malware and phishing have run absolutely rampant and are almost completely out of control. Luckily, there are passionate people and companies to help solve these issues. Cybersecurity best practices are mega important and should be studied and implemented consistently.

That's my list, Happy Crypto New Year!