For me my picks are waves and spectre.ai that has ongoing ICO. I picked spectre.ai because I trust their project and I have also joined bounty as well. On the other hand I chose waves because I think it will be the most pumped coin in 2018. As of now it is way too undervalued and it will surely rise after the updates are released, namely waves-ng. I am sure that when it is released, waves will become one of the fastest running blockchain that have ever existed.

There will still be a correction if that happens but it will be not that big of a dip if whales plan to buy all those sell orders when that times comes. Still, I think what OP has said is possible and bitcoin might at least go back to 3000$ because BITCOIN HAS BEEN ON A PROLONGED GROWTH PERIOD ALREADY WITH ONLY LEGALIZATION AND SOME POSITIVE NEWS AS SUPPORT and it is impossible for it to always go up and only have little corrections, it won't be healthy for btc if it continues like this.

Those are quite a good list of best altcoins to hold for long term. I think you should also add bitcoin cash on the list, since it is the most known forked version of btc at the moment and will somehow have ups and downs whenever btc price moves. Besides it, I think Omisego is one of the best coins to hold beside those already in the list. It is currently undervalued ATM like waves and it will soon go to the moon if one will be patient enough to hold it.

I think your choice right now is good as is. Pick XLM and DGB I think they are the most profitable among the choices. If you will see a good selling point before a year, then don't hesitate to sell. The only advantage of holding at least a year minimum is that it will maximize possible profit. Nevertheless, it also can somehow maximize loss if things turn the other way around but the bright side here is that if a coin you pick is one with lots of potential to survive for that long, then it can somehow gives you a chance to gain a hefty sum of profit just by waiting.

You got some helpful rules there to help traders profit from cryptocurrencies. Another rule I can add to the ones in the list is to never buy when it seems that the one you wanted to invest into seems to be a scam and will soon be a shitcoin. It makes no sense to invest on projects that wouldn't be that profitable. Another rule I can add to it is to not invest when the cryptocurrency you will invest into is in a green in span of two days because most of the time, a cheaper price will soon come along right after it.

I think it is very likely if ever good news have been unveiled in the next coming months. In fact it might exceed the speculated price and I think it can go as high as 17,000$ but I am sure that in the said time frame, it is also possible that the most awaited crypto winter will come. If ever btc dumped by that time after reaching ATH, just remember that it is a chance to buy bitcoin on sale if ever the expected big dump of btc will happen.

That being said, it will still hinder the progress of the rise of bitcoin. It will surely make a lot of fiat to go towards it that is owned not just by big institutional investors but it will also attract whales as well but it will only be temporary. I like normal gambling on btc gambling sites more though rather than bet with CME futures though. Considering it's effects in the long run, I think it won't be that massive as it will only temporarily draw away investors from btc.

Since that is the case, it will somehow directly affect the cost of bitcoin since it will draw investors away from bitcoin. When that happens, for sure bitcoin price would go down in price because of CME future if ever your guess was right. If it was the other way around which is very unlikely, then it will greatly boost bitcoin price. Either way if it wont draw away investors from bitcoin it will not affect bitcoin price at all.

The others are right about what they have said but besides that there is one important factor that determines btc price and that is the number of speculators. The more bitcoin is spread onto others, the more price rise and those speculators also affect btc price via holding bitcoin itself because when they hold the circulating supply lessens. Also, speculators are the ones who buy bulks of bitcoin, specially whales when they see a good buy in price. In fact, btc price is driven noe merely by speculators alone.

If you want in then just buy in, you decide what you do with your money. Also, don't be scared on hearsays saying that bitcoin can drop to altcoin prices this year because it can't. It is very unlikely for it to happen but if it does happen, it would be the greatest dump we will ever see on the history of cryptocurrencies and it will be remembered throughout the history. If that happens just believe in bitcoin and hodl, it will surely go to moon again after some time of staying in a low price.

I think it is the other way around, USA is the one who banned bitcoin trading and holding, not Japan. I am certain that Japan would not follow USA's footsteps because it is a foolish move go ban btc despite the benefits it brigs.
Of course if bitcoin will be so low once it crash because you cannot call it a crash if it ain't low in price. If you don't believe that it can go as low as those figures think again. Looking back, btc price was only at below 800$ way back 2016 but look at it now. Since we haven't seen those price ranges in a while it is possible for bitcoin to go as low as 5,000$ or lower depending on the situation. They are predicting that way because they have seen a dump like that happened way back 2013 and it is possible for it to happen today but the chance is low.

Like others I do hope he is spot on. I am sure if it were to come true many such holders right now will be jumping in joy when that time comes. Even if he is pro bitcoin, I still don't like his betting to eat his own dick for the sake of prediction, it is too much IMO. He should have had bet other things on the line for his speculation or don't bet at all. No one is asking him to bet anything, he should have had leave it to the readers whether they will believe him or not.

Yeah your right. I think OP's view is quite realistic because I myself don't believe that bitcoin would continue to be on an upward trend day by day with only a little dip after crazy pump, the value of it now is overvalued, driven merely by speculation. I am sure that the time OP is referring to will come soon since bitcoin's rise has been on a prolonged bullish run already. Just you wait we would see another great chance to join the ride to the moon next time.

Instead of banning it, they should have had use it to their advantage like how Japan did when they legalized bitcoin. They will probably use coins with more anonymity like you said. Some might even consider moving into another country if they want to continue to use btc. I think this move they have made is a wrong move, they will surely suffer losses in the future if btc were to become mainstream. The most possible effect when it happens is that they would be left behind in case usage of fiat is seized. It might not happen soon though.

When that happens then the circulating supply will always be fixed to 21 million coins at most. It is obvious that when it is all mined, bitcoin would surely go up in price but the question is that will it go up more in long term after that event happened? The answer to this question will only be known when that time comes because if it happens that by that time btc price is still speculation driven, then it will surely go down slowly but surely after that point.

That is also the reason why bitcoin is being used widely. Investors are attracted by it in fact. As time pass, price would surely be stable as many more people joins it. The thing that is needed most by bitcoin to be widely accepted is fast transaction confirmation time. It needs speed up transaction confirmation up to it's limit in order to sustain the usage of many people. It should be lightning fast to confirm massive transactions in short period of time because it will be necessary when it becomes main stream.

For short term at least there won't be any professions that will disappear right away. I think in the long run it won't greatly affect jobs but it will lessen the market for them, making it not that profitable as a job. I am sure that when the time comes when blockchain is completely mainstream, the one that will be greatly affected are money sending service employees like those who work in remittance center. They might begin to disappear unless they will be the one to use this tech for their business in order for their employees to continue their job.

It is a well known fact that btc is one of the most known currency in the world, it is the hottest making it controversial. Nevertheless bitcoin is also is the most unused currency at the moment according to wall street journal. I know some users here will quote that it ain't because many use it but think again. Why do you think people use it anyway? As a currency? Or as an asset? If one look closely, it is mostly treated to be as an asset. Only a few users use it as a currency, leaving it unused as as currency most of the time.

I think you would need more than 200 million dollars in order to run your own crypto exchange in order to run your exchange properly if you will offer fiat withdrawals but if not then you will still need more than 2000 BTC in order to do it. You can also try to develop your exchange more and program it so that the buyer and seller will just exchange balance and the only thing you would need to worry about is fees. Just have at least 0.25% of every transaction done as fee for exchanging and also have a decent amount of fee on withdrawal.

You won't be abused by whales so long as you don't join their hype and invest onto it. Next time before investing assess the real potential of a coin by researging about it to know if it still has potential for growth. It really is a fact that price manipulation of altcoins is relatively easier than bitcoin's but it still ain't that easy if someone will try to manipulate top coins with high prices. All a whale needs to start manipulating is money and the hype.