Altcoin December Forecast: Overview and Top Performers for the Month
Altcoin December Forecast: Bitcoin Bonanza Good News for Altcoins
Cryptocurrency investors are currently standing over a massive treasure trove. Crypto coin prices are shooting through the roof, with Bitcoin leading the way. Likewise, altcoin prices are rallying as demand for these cryptocurrencies sees an unprecedented rise. In fact, the altcoin market cap has just hit a record high. With that in mind, here’s a brief altcoin December forecast for my readers seeking the best altcoin to invest in 2017.
As of now, investor exuberance knows no bounds in the crypto world. Crypto bulls are pouring bucketloads of cash into cryptocurrencies. The total cryptocurrency market cap has hit a never-seen-before level past $309.0 billion, of which about $166.0 billion is owed to Bitcoin alone.
Altcoins, which are cryptocurrency coins other than Bitcoin, are likewise witnessing a remarkable rally. The altcoin market cap is now approaching a whopping $143.0 billion.
To put that into perspective, cryptocurrency market is now worth more than the world’s biggest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT), and the world’s biggest fast food chain, McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), and is about to beat the valuation of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), one of world’s biggest oil companies.
The numbers are astounding. Bitcoin prices have already blasted their way through the $10,000 mark, and I’m quite certain that “Satoshi Nakamoto” themselves may not have seen this coming, at least not this early.
Back in 2009, Nakamoto–assumed to be someone operating under a pseudonym– created this cryptocurrency in the aftermath of the financial crisis which resulted in the Great Recession. The decentralized Bitcoin was to serve as an alternative store of value which could replace centrally controlled fiat currencies.
Satoshi Nakamoto introduced Bitcoin to the world as a safe haven investment, and it seems like his (her? Their?) outlandish proposition is beginning to win public support.
Bitcoin has, in fact, emerged as the most-sought-after safe haven investment of this age. One can verify this by merely comparing bitcoin prices with gold prices. The latter was always the most popular safe haven for investors until Bitcoin entered the market.
As of now, one bitcoin is trading for nearly seven times an ounce of gold.
Just look around the world and you find ample evidence that political and financial troubles in certain regions are boosting demand for this cryptocurrency. Zimbabwe’s currency crisis, Venezuela’s economy crisis, the Middle East’s geopolitical tensions, and North Korea’s nuclear threats are just a few worth mentioning.
Up until now, a long-held belief in the analyst community has been that the same investors have been moving money between bitcoin and altcoins, pushing prices up for one and pulling them down for the other. But that idea is turning out to be a fallacy, as we see prices rising across the board.
High trading volumes and high prices in nearly all of these cryptocurrencies suggest that more and more investors are getting interested in this investment idea.
So without further ado, here’s my altcoin December forecast for three of the top altcoins.
Ethereum Forecast
Ethereum is first on my list for an obvious reason: it is the most valuable cryptocurrency in the world after Bitcoin.
I’m looking at the crystal ball in front of me (that is, the Ethereum price chart) and it is showing me some very positive signs.
Ethereum prices made history this week, touching their all-time highs over $480.00. The Ethereum market cap has also set a new record, surpassing $45.0 billion.
A quick look at the ETH price chart shows prices making higher highs and higher lows, suggesting that an uptrend is in play. Although volume saw a drop through late October, renewed investor interest was witnessed through November.
Chart Courtesy of TradingView.com
The past week has seen new investors coming in droves to buy this cryptocurrency, as trading volumes surpassed $1.0 billion.
The surge in prices follows the Ethereum founder’s major announcement. Vitalik Buterin has just shared a roadmap for Ethereum 2.0, the next installment in the Ethereum technology, which will focus on increasing the network’s security, improving its scalability to process more transactions at a faster rate, and making it even more decentralized than it already is.
Ethereum is already beating other cryptocurrencies in terms of popularity, but it is now aiming straight for the first spot on the cryptocurrency leaderboard, where Bitcoin is maintaining a lead.
Although surpassing Bitcoin this December looks impossible for now, my altcoin December forecast for Ethereum is nonetheless bullish. I’m foreseeing ETH prices heading straight for the $500.00 mark through December and maintaining an upward trend next year.
Find out more about Ethereum and our daily Ethereum price forecasts here.
Now, next up on my altcoin December forecast is Ripple.
Ripple Forecast
While the highly inflated cryptocurrency prices have most other investors worried of a bubble in the making, Ripple investors seem much less wary. That’s because Ripple prices have seen some reasonable correction in the recent days, after their incredible summer rally.
Ripple (XRP) is now trading lower than its all-time highs, achieved in May. The altcoin is currently selling for $0.28 apiece, while Ripple’s market cap is hovering close to $11.0 billion.
The cryptocurrency promotes itself as the best blockchain-based decentralized system of global payments and differentiates itself from Bitcoin on the basis of scalability and efficiency. Ripple can process more transactions at a faster rate than Bitcoin and is also cheap in terms of operational costs.
But that’s not what gets me excited. Instead, what makes Ripple truly more promising is its success at gripping the attention of a number of famous global banks.
About a dozen major banks and payment processing companies have already begun to process Ripple-based transactions, with plenty more showing interest. Ripple’s growing investor community is will be eventually adding to its liquidity.
The Ripple price chart may be underwhelming at a cursory look, but dig a little deeper and you may be surprised. Ripple prices are hovering close to the resistance level, where prices find it hard to break out.
Chart Courtesy of TradingView.com
But if Ripple does succeed in breaking the resistance, then there may be no stopping it. For my altcoin December forecast, I’m seeing Ripple (XRP) prices heading past $0.32.
You can follow our daily Ripple coverage here.
Litecoin Forecast
Litecoin, too, has reached new highs in November. Litecoin prices have crossed the $90.00 mark and the Litecoin market cap is now worth more than $5.0 billion.
Litecoin’s pledge to offer users a cheaper and faster cryptocurrency alternative to Bitcoin is beginning to catch investor attention. The cryptocurrency, which bills itself as a Bitcoin competitor, is attracting more and more investors each passing day.
Litecoin prices first leapt in May, soon after the major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase added Litecoin to its platform.
This month’s rally is owed to a similar event. South Korea’s major cryptocurrency exchange, Coinone, added Litecoin just earlier this month.
Upon looking at the LTC price chart, one cannot miss the obvious positive signals in price. The higher highs leading higher lows create a beautiful upward trend, with prices visibly heading for the $100.00 mark through December.
Chart Courtesy of TradingView.com
To learn more about Litecoin and read our longer-term Litecoin price predictions, check out our daily coverage here.
Analyst’s Take
At $10,000 apiece, Bitcoin’s price is seeming absurdly high to average investors looking for cryptocurrency exposure. For them, that ship has already sailed. But they still have a chance to multiply their investments in altcoins.
This year has been incredibly rewarding for early altcoin investors. But might I remind you that the year is not over just yet.
I’m seeing further uptick in prices of Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin in December, which spells a bullish altcoin December forecast for these potential top performers. Don’t forget to keep tabs on them.
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