Big data has changed the cryptocurrency industry in a number of ways. Blockchain has evolved in parallel with big data, as the two technologies feed into each other?s advances. However, ethereum is another cryptocurrency that is changing with big data. Predictive analytics is playing an especially important role.
Predictive Analytics is Changing the Future of This Underdog Currency
Like most digital assets, Ether ? a native token on the Ethereum blockchain ? has been in the wars in 2018. After soaring from around $8 at the start of 2017 to its all-time high of over $1,400 at the beginning of this year, Ethereum has since fallen to just short of $210 at the time of writing. Although it has been one of the cryptocurrencies most impacted by this year?s bear market, there is still a lot to be optimistic about the Ethereum platform and, by extension, Ether itself. That said, there are also factors that could cast serious shade over the project?s future. Rather than categorically answer the question posed by the title, this article will give you some starting points for your own research on whether you should buy Ethereum now or wait. It?s much better to make a well-informed decision based on several sources of information than blindly follow a single article anyway! But what can you really expect it to mean? There are a lot of changes in the crypto sector, due to predictive analytics. One of the biggest changes just happened this month, when the ethereum founder formed a partnership with predictive analytics company, Endor. They will work together to advance the currency in the future. Investors are using predictive analytics as well. They are going to be able to predict price changes and possibly gain from market inefficiencies with big data algorithms.
The Community of Developers Invest in Predictive Analytics
One of Ethereum?s best qualities is the sheer number of people working on it. Of all the blockchain and smart contract platforms out there, Ethereum is known for its vibrant and extensive developer community. Just recently, over 1,000 developers working on the platform have taken part in the ETH San Francisco Hackathon. Those in attendance were given the opportunity to learn from a community comprising of some of the most experienced blockchain and smart contract developers on the planet. The skills passed on will empower greater numbers of enthusiasts than ever to program potentially ?killer applications? on the network. Other metrics measuring the developer community are also positive. For example, the number of people downloading Truffle, an ETH developer package, was far higher in June of this year than it was at the peak of the Ether price boom back in January. In fact, it?s estimated that the platform has as many as 50,000 new developers every month! These developers recognize that predictive analytics is the key to advancing this major cryptocurrency.
Smart Contract Technology and Decentralized Applications
The huge numbers of Ethereum developers are working on several key areas that will hopefully improve the platform sufficiently for it to become the world-changing innovation many claim it can be. Some are looking into techniques to help the blockchain scale enough to handle the vast number of transactions necessary for a global, decentralized computing platform. This is of vital importance to the entire blockchain space since no public blockchain is anywhere near capable of handling the potential resource demand necessary to serve the entire planet at once. Meanwhile, other developers are busy working on smart contracts to power the various decentralized applications that are being built on top of the network. Since the Ether token is essentially programmable money, what?s actually possible with the technology is still largely unknown. However, currently in the works are all kinds of applications based on the Ethereum blockchain. These range from identity services and storage systems, right through to provably fair gambling platforms and online games. Many of the decentralized applications that exist at present are clunky, slow, and offer a poor user experience. However, with an ever-growing community of developers, it is more than likely that a truly revolutionary, must-have application will be launched on the Ethereum blockchain. Since all apps hosted on Ethereum require Ether to run, if this were to occur the price of Ether would surely increase.
What Could Go Wrong?
Although it has a lot going for it, the Ethereum platform is by no means bulletproof. Since it offers an entirely different value proposition to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which seek to replace traditional currency alone, the potential for failure is magnified exponentially.
Can Ethereum Really Scale?
One of the most pressing issues facing Ethereum and its native currency is whether it can scale to the deal with enough transactions to prove its value as a network. There is no point having a plethora of decentralized applications built on top of Ethereum if each time one becomes popular, the network grinds to halt. This might sound a little extreme to those new to the space, but such an application did garner much excitement that it caused a backlog of transactions. Late last year, digital collectible game CryptoKitties was all the rage. It proved so popular that the number of users buying and selling digital cats rendered the Ethereum blockchain essentially unusable for a period.
Competition
Along with present limitations on the technological front, there is also the issue of competition. Whereas Bitcoin is competing with fiat currencies mostly, it faces little to no competition from the cryptocurrency space. Ethereum, on the other hand, has plenty of competitors. The likes of EOS, NEO, Stratis, Cardano, WAVES, and a host of others are all attempting to provide a blockchain platform for decentralized, smart contract applications. Although Ethereum does enjoy the largest developer pool of any of these platforms, there is nothing to say that it will solve the issues of scaling first. Any of the above projects could dethrone Ethereum as the number one platform around and that would seriously limit the upside potential of an investment in Ether.
Advice for Investing
The only true investment advice one can give you is to do plenty of your own research into which, if any, cryptocurrency projects you want to put your money. If you don?t understand blockchain technology, learn about it. Buying something because it?s a popular thing at the moment is a very bad idea. Investing in that same asset because you understand it thoroughly and believe it can offer real-world benefits makes a lot more sense. For these reasons, none of this article should be taken as investment advice. By all means, use it as a starting point for your research but don?t make a snap decision based on it. Since they are innately disruptive technologies, all cryptocurrencies have a mountain to climb before they are widely adopted. This point leads us to one of the most important rules of cryptocurrency (or any investment for that matter) – Do not invest more than you can afford to lose… Predictive analytics is something investors should focus on. It should give them a huge edge.
Predictive Analytics is Changing the Ethereum Market
The ethereum market is evolving at a rapid pace. Investors and developers must be aware of the impact that predictive analytics is having. This could set the stage for a major price change.