The crypto market’s 2018 is filled with disappointment especially coming from those who are waiting for the next bull run. Institutional investors are said to be the ones that will change the crypto market’s bearish trend for the better, but unfortunately, things aren’t really going fast. And now, the total market capitalization of dropped back to $210 billion.
Though Bitcoin shows stability, altcoins are mostly red. In fact, the top ten cryptocurrencies are all red with the exception of Tether that claims to be pegged against the US dollar. Among altcoins that experienced the most losses included XRP, Bitcoin Cash, and Cardano all dropping over 3%.
Looking beyond the top ten, things aren’t looking good as well. IOTA dropped the most at 4.3% while Dash, Tezos, and VeChain are down by 3%. The biggest winner is Polymath which experienced a 20% increase right after having a new partnership with Netcoins providing OTC services for security token issuers.
Rise in Blockchain Related Work?
Though the market is quite bearish, it doesn’t mean that there is no demand for those people that have a background in blockchain tech. In fact, according to a recent report from Glassdoor, it has been discovered that job positions in the blockchain industry is up by over 300% in just a one year period.
Last August, around 1,700 open positions were posted. The medium salary for blockchain-related occupations is at $84,884 annually. In the US, the average salary is at $52,461. The Glassdoor data was from the large sample of US job postings online related to the blockchain industry.
It says that “While the applications of blockchain technology are diverse, most of the recent interest has focuse don cryptocurrencies…As more employers become interested and invested in the technology, the professionalization of the space has accelerated as well”.
However, though the majority of blockchain related job openings are mostly for those that have a background in computer science, there are openings for non-technical positions such as Analyst Relations Managers and Product Managers. And also, there are those open positions for marketing and community managers.
Maturity in the Market?
It is explained that FOMO moments in crypto is already fading. In addition to this, stability in Bitcoin’s price is seen by many as a sign that the market is actually maturing. In fact, Google searches for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have declined compared to last year. And many experts believe that there’s a correlation between the rise of the cryptocurrency market and the number of people trying to Google Bitcoin and other crypto related terms.
Is the market really maturing at this point? Can it be that there is an impending bull run coming considering the development in the niche? Next month, Bakkt is expected to go live. In addition to this, despite the recent drawbacks on Bitcoin ETF application, it seems that the Bitcoin ETF application by Solid X and VanEck has a change of getting approved.
And what’s next for altcoins in case there really is a bull run waiting for Bitcoin? Will investors still be interested in altcoins considering the reputation some altcoins received in the last year?
