At Miles Franklin, I taped a “Year-Ahead Predictions” podcast in the last week of each year.  An incredible amount of time and effort went into it – and in the end, no matter how thoughtful it seemed, it had as much efficacy as technical analysis.  The world is simply too complex to be predicted with great accuracy; let alone, financial markets - which is why the vast majority of investors lose money…particularly when the X Factor of human nature is considered, leading people to buy high and sell low.

I have no intention of publishing anything like that today – as NO ONE could have imagined, let alone predicted, what occurred the last two years.  Not to mention, crypto sentiment and interest is so low right now, it’s not worth putting into writing.  That said, it’s interesting to consider some of the bigger picture issues.

In HINDSIGHT, it’s easy to understand that what occurred a year ago was a major crypto bubble – particularly in altcoins.  At the time, I said 95%+ were useless – including BCash, which I railed about from the day it was born.  However, it’s difficult to believe Bitcoin, too, fell as much as it did – particularly when the catalyzing event, to break the Hoffman Line, was what has turned out to be a complete non-event; i.e, the SV fork - which unfortunately, showed us Bitcoin is not as anti-fragile as we thought; at least, not yet.

Whether stocks and commodities rebound from their borderline bear market is uncertain, particularly when the PPT – i.e., the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets – is PUBLICLY meeting; with China’s “National Team” and other market-supporting operatives becoming more transparent, and strong-handed, each day.  However, it couldn’t be more obvious that when FIVE YEARS ago, I said the economy couldn’t handle a 10-year Treasury yield above 3%, I was dead on.  To that end, debt is MUCH higher today, making higher rates all but impossible for the global economy.  So, the $64,000 question remains – of whether Central banks can keep rates down whilst continually inflating their currencies; or, alternatively, is another 2008-style deflationary collapse in the cards - as appears to be unfolding today?

Fortunately, one thing 2018 has brought to the Bitcoin community is increased network stability, and increased obviousness regarding its myriad use cases.  Yes, the political (and Hash) battle with BCash and SV is a significant negative factor; which in turn, heightens investor confusion as to what Bitcoin is, and what it should be.  And yes, the overall financial deflation we are experiencing may turn out to be THE story of 2019, just as it arguably has been in the last quarter of 2018.  However, with each passing day, it becomes more and more obvious that Bitcoin is superior to both transactional currency and store-of-value assets like Precious Metals – which, by the way, are trading at all-time-low inflation-adjusted prices.

Additionally, 2018 showed us altcoins aren’t going away – as despite the horrific crypto crash, Bitcoin still has barely 50% dominance.  This, despite most altcoins PROVING they have no use case.  Thus, just as the internet industry broadened after the initial pump-and-dump of the late 90s, I expect the altcoin sector to proliferate in the coming years.  It will take time, but eventually several – likely, numerous – altcoins will demonstrate viable, defensible use cases the financial world will find valuable.  

In my case, watching BRhodium develop over the past year has been incredibly rewarding – as it showed how great ideas, with great support, can morph into great investment ideas.  So much so, I was completely comfortable selling my Bitcoin when the Hoffman Line broke – under the belief BRhodium will outperform essentially all cryptos in the coming year.  Ultimately, I aim to re-build my Bitcoin position – given my unwavering belief in its future.  However, for now, I’m steering clear of the minefield of “risk on” assets – which clearly ,the investment community considers Bitcoin to be - to focus the vast majority of my attention on BRhodium…as once it launches on exchanges in the coming weeks (the first, by January 14th the latest), I expect it to rapidly narrow the valuation gap it currently trades at, against worthless cr-p like BGold, BDiamond, Lightning BTC, Bprivate, and Super BTC.

I wish you all good luck in 2019 – and assure you, CryptoGoldCentral.com will be in the thick of the cryptocurrency industry for the foreseeable future!