With 2017 now coming to an end, many emerging technology investors who struck it rich over the past 12 months will now be deciding whether to count their money while they're sitting at the table, or hold onto their hand into this year, riding a long-term trend of growth in sectors such as blockchain/cryptocurrency, autonomous driving technology, and artificial intelligence.
With most of the discussion of late surrounding blockchain and the various cryptocurrencies which rely on said technology, investors have increasingly grown concerned about the rapid pace of growth in this sector; over the course of the past two weeks, the price of Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency available today, has dropped by approximately one-third, as investors have begun to price in risks of government intervention into the price of virtual currencies across the board.
Regulatory issues stemming from two major markets for cryptocurrency (Korea and China) have begun to surface, with governments around the world now assessing the risks associated with initial coin offerings (ICOs) and the anonymity and taxation-related issues these virtual currencies provide governments around the world.
With the direction of cryptocurrency prices seemingly impossible to predict, I would caution investors on the merits of cryptocurrencies alone, and would encourage any early-stage or emerging tech investors to consider companies operating in the blockchain technology space as a better way to play long-term growth in this sector.
Invest wisely, my friends.
