Many cryptocurrency analysts and investors see 2018 as a turning point, with the blockchain coming into greater prominence. After the 2017 Bitcoin hype, it is evident that it still has many inherent usage problems: clogging block transactions and scalability led to the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) fork in August, but BTC remains slow and expensive to use.

Bitcoin is riding high on the interest generated by its launch on the futures markets in Chicago, but in spite of the high valuations, Bitcoin\'s major protocols are still not delivering full value to its users. In a year-end Coindesk opinion piece, cryptocurrency investor Jez San, CEO of a casino platform built on the Ethereum blockchain, says that bitcoin is not suitable as a payment system, as transaction fees are the same to send $100,000 or buy a cup of coffee.

While developers produce forks and fixes for Bitcoin\'s problems, including the potentially spurious SegWit2X launched on December 28th, San believes that 2018 will see more focus on Ethereum blockchains.

The potential market for smart contracts, with their decentralized system for finance and commerce, could far outrun the existing store of value system. In a simple computer analogy, San compares bitcoin to the early implementation of DOS, while ethereum would be a modern operating system like Mac or Windows, as a forerunner to massive new development initiatives.