Privacy Based Cryptocurrencies: Price Speculation

Over the last week, cryptocurrencies experienced a significant upswing as Bitcoin recovers from the 2x situation. Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Ethereum and Monero experienced a notable influx in trading volume as well as a leap in value shortly after the Bitcoin sell-off. Litecoin also jumped significantly against both fiat and Bitcoin but is relatively more stable; experiencing less volatility than the other major currencies. As crypto moves forward with market adoption and popularity, volatility can become an issue with people less versed in the trading markets. For example, a merchant selling goods or services may be “short” at the end of the month due to lack of time or proficiency with trading; not all merchants are capable of comfortably handling the technical aspects of cryptocurrencies. Online banking and navigating the web does not come naturally to all generations and introducing another technological aspect to businesses will take some time, more so in rural areas. Until then, cryptocurrencies will continue evolving and innovative solutions are always around the corner. After all, necessity is the mother of invention.

One of these innovations that came out of necessity, is the need for privacy. An open banking system such as Bitcoin functions on the principle that all transactions are publicly auditable and the record is unchangeable. This method has served its function while cryptocurrencies evolve and continue to provide an honest method of peer-to-peer exchange, however, currencies such as Monero and Dash have made it their mandate to provide anonymous transaction while maintaining the integrity of their respective blockchains.

Dash is a popular cryptocurrency that functions on Masternodes. These Masternodes are the backbone of the Dash blockchain and serve as a consensus and obfuscation mechanism for its users and also allows for the InstantSend feature of Dash. The startup cost ensures that only serious long term investors take up this venture at just under $500k USD at the time of writing, or 1000 Dash. The project “Dash Evolution” aims at making Dash a user-friendly payment system that could potentially bring cryptocurrencies into a new mass adoption era.

Price Speculation: Dash experienced a significant price climb against the USD in the last week and seems content around the $420 mark. In the event that Dash drops to $355, I would consider it a good buy. In terms of DASH/BTC, 0.055฿ and below would be an ideal buy-in, as I expect prices to reach 0.076฿ or even 0.084฿. Dash is strong against fiat and is a good alternative for Bitcoin Cash; It could even reach $1000 USD if the difficulty wars continue among the miners.

Monero is most widely known as the anonymous cryptocurrency. It utilizes a new type of ring signatures called RingCT to obfuscate transactions through a method called a Multi-layered Linkable Spontaneous Anonymous Group signatures (MLSAG). In short, MLSAG is an upgrade to the original CryptoNote protocol that removes a layer of traceability by hiding the amounts sent on the blockchain as well as “mixing” the transactions. This aspect greatly increases the fungibility of Monero, meaning that 1 XMR is the same as another XMR. This cannot be said for Bitcoin, as coins may be used to trace transactions to a specific target. For example, Bitcoins purchased from BTC-e innocently could be construed as money laundering due to their history with Alexander Vinnik.

“Currently some large Bitcoin companies are blocking, suspending, or closing accounts that have received Bitcoin used in online gambling or other purposes deemed unsavory by said companies.”

Price Speculation: Monero prices against fiat are climbing slow and steady. Bitcoin reaching beyond $7k sooner than later put a halt on the climb past 0.0225฿, but the value of Monero as an independent cryptocurrency remains strong. XMR should reach 0.02฿ before experiencing a small sell-off. I anticipate a few upward swings while Bitcoin goes through a correction. Monero should settle for 0.0165฿ again afterwards and may drop to 0.0137฿, should Bitcoin start moving toward new all-time-highs.

ZenCash is a relatively new cryptocurrency focused on privacy. ZEN was forked from Zclassic at the end of May of 2017, functions on the Equihash algorithm and utilizes zk-SNARKs technology for privacy. It offers various in-wallet features such as shielded transactions, private messaging and domain fronting. These tools allow for an all-around privacy system that detaches users from certain websites, chatrooms or marketplaces. Zen also operates on Secure Nodes which encrypts communication between peers on the network. The roadmap includes an IPFS-based, anonymous publishing network that will further decentralize the operations of ZenCash. The comprehensive whitepaper also addresses market competition and outlines how ZenCash can function as a social technology as well as an economic platform.

Price Speculation: Zen received a boost at the end of October, bringing the floor up to around 0.003฿. If the altcoin market remains strong, Zen could easily breach the 0.004฿ mark and stay above 0.0032฿. However, the rise of Bitcoin prices may cause a dip to 0.00238฿ and a general sell-off could even bring Zen down to 0.00155฿. Zen is a good buy at those prices and I expect a good recovery should it happen.

Trading markets can be volatile. These are my own trading opinions and should not be construed as investment advice. Always do your own research and chart analysis.

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