While 2018 began with prices for cryptoassets like bitcoin and
ether at or just off record highs, it appears that the year will
end with prices down 75% or more.
Meanwhile, securities regulators, primarily in the United
States, have announced an increasing number of settlements and
enforcement actions against individuals and companies that have
dealt in cryptoassets without complying with applicable securities
laws.
On the surface, it would appear that cryptoassets resemble a
bubble bursting under the combined weight of irrational retail
investor exuberance and regulatory intervention. However, the
narrative is perhaps not so simple. The initial coin offering, or
ICO, phenomenon of 2017 is now clearly on the decline, but
institutional interest in cryptoassets has held steady, and has
perhaps increased, over the past year. This suggests 2019 will see
the continued institutionalization and professionalization of
cryptoassets.
