It may come as a surprise, but it is likely that history will show that 2019 was a turning point for cryptocurrency markets.

In a year when Facebook announced Libra; the Bitcoin price rose to over $10,000 again – before settling at $7,000; and big household names like Fidelity and the International Monetary Fund embraced the crypto phenomenon with the former launching custody services and the latter publishing an important paper on stablecoins; 2019 will be looked on as the year when markets finally went from being speculative to rational, helped by deeper liquidity, a wider range of investors, and the emergence of crypto derivatives.

As we head into a new year, we believe that the momentum from 2019 will carry into 2020 and that the next 12 months will see more action by regulators to manage the growth of crypto, more action from traditional financial institutions to embrace the opportunities offered by crypto, and an increased positive performance for crypto’s biggest currency: Bitcoin (BTC).

Our predictions for 2020

Following the advances of regulations made by Malta, we predict that the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Singapore will emerge as the pre-eminent crypto centers with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, Hong Kong’s Securities & Futures Commission and the Monetary Authority of Singapore all publishing comprehensive regulations for the management of crypto exchanges, as well as digital assets.

The comprehensive regulations will give these three jurisdictions advantages for attracting capital and talent. These are also jurisdictions where crypto is growing the fastest: China, East and South East Asia and Europe. The US and Japan also offer crypto regulation in varying degrees, but growth is most prevalent in Asia, where a growing affluent class is looking to diversify its investment portfolios.