Cryptocurrency Transactions Expected to Break $1 Trillion Barrier This Year

A new study from Juniper Research has found that the value of cryptocurrency transactions is expected to surpass $1 trillion in 2017, more than 15 times the level in 2016.

The new research, The Future of Blockchain: Key Vertical Opportunities & Deployment Strategies 2017-2022, stated that transaction values in H1 2017 surpassed $325 billion, driven by the dramatic increase in Ethereum’s price which saw it account for two-thirds of cryptocurrency transaction values in that time.

Cryptocurrency is now typically seeing daily trades well in excess of $2 billion. Meanwhile, the research found that Litecoin experienced a surge in volume and value; if current levels are maintained it should exceed $100 billion in transactions this year.

Bitcoin has continued its recent rise in value in the wake of the currency’s hard fork on 1^st August, which resulted in the creation of a new currency, Bitcoin Cash. Indeed, since the start of 2017, Bitcoin prices have risen from around $1,000 to more than $4,000. However, the research cautioned that a second planned fork in November, when the SegWit2x scaling solution is due to be implemented, may prompt a split in the community, potentially leading to depreciation.

According to research author Dr Windsor Holden: “There is no resolution in sight to the continuing and fundamental disagreements between many Bitcoin miners and Bitcoin Core developers over the future of the cryptocurrency. This in turn could lead to uncertainty about Bitcoin’s future and downward pressure on its valuation.”

The research, which also focused on new use cases for blockchain, claimed that ultimately the brightest prospects in the sector came from deployments of private blockchain technologies for permissioned ledgers, rather than the public chains running cryptocurrencies.

The complimentary whitepaper, Which Industries are the Best Fit for Blockchain?, is available to download from the Juniper website together with further details of the full research and the attendant IFxl (Interactive Forecast Excel).

Juniper Research is acknowledged as the leading analyst house in the digital commerce and fintech sector, delivering pioneering research into payments, banking and financial services for more than a decade.

Source: Juniper Research media annoucement