Cryptocurrency investing in 2018, so far, is not for the faint of the heart. The crypto market started the year with a sharp retracement (crash), which led to a decline of 50% in most Top Cryptocurrencies. For some Cryptocurrencies with smaller market caps, the damage was much more significant.

Does that mean the cryptocurrency bull market is over? What exactly is happening in this volatile market after the spectacular run last year? And what are some of the key factors cryptocurrency investors need to know in order to succeed when investing in cryptocurrencies in 2018?

Cryptocurrency investing in 2018: Ongoing trends in cryptocurrency markets

After the strong performance towards the end of last year, cryptocurrencies started a sharp retrace that scared of many investors. Many theories and reasons are provided by different sources:

• A bearish outlook from Banks and the Media:
  Most media outlets are talking about the eminent end of Cryptocurrency soon. Some analysts and prominent bankers are predicting values as low as $0 USD for Bitcoin.
• Cryptocurrency regulation:
  Regulating cryptocurrencies is also another hot topic nowadays that seems to be putting pressure on the cryptocurrency market. Countries across the globe such as India, UAE, the US, France and South Korea are exploring how they will handle cryptocurrency regulation. For many analysts, the drop in cryptocurrency prices early 2018 could be attributed to traders and investors’ concerns around these regulations.
• Hacking and security risks:
  Hacking and security risks have been a weight on cryptocurrency prices since inception and for good reason. The end of December, Tether announced that $30 million worth of cryptocurrency was stolen by hackers. During the same month, NiceHash' CEO announced a $60 million cryptocurrency hack.

What’s happening in the cryptocurrency market, and its impact on cryptocurrency investing in 2018

As impressive as it could be, the massive recent drop in the cryptocurrency market is a healthy retrace before the uptrend resumes its course. To remain objective, it’s very important to consider this price movement relative to the run that preceded the retrace.

For instance, Bitcoin price went from $1000  in 2017 to more than $20,000 in December 2017. As we start 2018, Bitcoin price dropped briefly below $6,000. Even with the massive retrace, the price is still up 6 folds from less than one year ago and that is a strong performance in our books and a healthy back test of the Breakout level in the $5,000 area.

Log chart of the Top 8 Cryptocurrencies Index

This is why we maintain a positive outlook for cryptocurrency investing in 2018, and see no reason (yet) to not believe why 2018 will not be profitable year for crypto investors. There are however some important factors investors need to keep in mind to make the right choices and take the right decisions when investing in cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrency investing in 2018: How to benefit from this bull market

When we started our blockchain research service, our main goal was to offer our subscribers quality insight to get exposure to the budding blockchain technology that we believe will impact many sectors for years to come. We also wanted to make sure they avoid costly mistakes often driven by human emotion (fear, greed…) or hesitation usually because of a lack or understanding or research.

To achieve this outcome, our research team developed a set of criteria to identify the cryptocurrencies that have the potential to provide a high reward and spot them as early as possible. However, even if investors are successful in spotting those high potential cryptocurrencies/tokens, the execution of the investment is what truly makes the difference between a winning and a loosing or break-even investment.

Below are 5 important factors investors choosing cryptocurrency investing in 2018 need to keep in mind:

Factor #1 Strength of the development Team and the underlying code

Behind every cryptocurrency there is a team and eventually a community that supports it. Investors need to assess the strength and expertise of this development team and how dedicated they are to building and later on supporting this cryptocurrency to truly understand the future of the cryptocurrency they are invested in.

Same for the underlying code: Every cryptocurrency has its unique code that determines its strength and weaknesses even if it was initially the product of a hard fork. A good example is Bitcoin, Litecoin and Dash. Both Dash and Litecoin forked from Bitcoin but there is a significant difference between each of these leading cryptocurrencies. Investors need to look at the scalability of the cryptocurrency, speed and cost of transactions.

Factor #2 The vision behind the Cryptocurrency

The vision behind the cryptocurrency is what ultimately brings the community together. If there is no vision, there is no direction and even if you have the best technical team, if there is no common goal, no consensus mechanisms, then nothing gets achieved.

Factor #3 Intrinsic value

Intrinsic value is what ultimately seals the fate and price of cryptocurrencies. It is the results of a strong vision, a strong underlying code providing a solution to an existing need in the crypto world or in general. To assess the intrinsic value, there are many facets to look at such as the number of transactions and how many exchanges or retailers list the cryptocurrency/token.

Factor #4 Select the best of the Best, to the best of your knowledge

Cryptocurrency investors in 2018 or even later need to be very selective and choose the cryptocurrencies that are likely to survive. The key here is thorough and continuous research. We have shared with our readers some of our top picks such as  Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin..

Factor #5 Execution

When investing in cryptocurrencies, less is more. This is a golden rule that applies particularly well for cryptocurrency investing. Sticking to the charts, eliminating the noise from media is the key to going into a few select trades that could potentially yield the most rewards.

To conclude, we shared at the beginning the multiple reasons explaining what is currently happening in the cryptocurrency market. Investors could try to guess and assume what will happen based on the news or stick to the chart to make their decisions. Based on our experience, the latter option paired with continuous research is always the winner because it reduces the risk of taking decisions based on emotions.