2013 was a great year. What do you think 2014 will bring? http://bitcoinboard.net/bitcoin-in-2014-what-can-we-expect/
The volatility continues, a couple of 50% crashes, and at the end of the year it will be in the 100-200 bucks range..... Altcoins will gain more ground and generally prices among the top 3-4 coins going to spread out more evenly. The possibility of a Bitcoin killer coming is great, specially if the initial coin distribution is fair, meaning not many coins are premined. Imagine a coin with better features, more security, and only 5% premined and still mineable with a simple computer (coins could be randomly distributed as a lottery system). That would gain traction and usability real fast and could replace bitcoin. Digital currency is here to stay, but valuation has to be more realistic, and the initial ponzi/pyramid stage has to pass....
imho it is a gamble, For excitement I go to Vegas and allocate a fixed amount of cash for "entertainment" purposes. I do not expect to win, hence I am never disappointed, surprised or upset. For trading I stick with known "liquid" instruments; commodities, stocks, Index, ETF's..., options to hedge, etc... Where will BC be in 2014? No idea, no interest, no prediction. Will some people lose their ass? No doubt. Will it be me? No way.
For me, One thing is sure: BTC will not go away anymore. And it will not be replaced (in 2014) by any other crypto currency, although I see more upside by Litecoin (a second blockchain besides Bitcoin is useful). 2014, Bitcoin will not yet get a status of a Currency. But as Commodity and Payment-network it will make waves. I expect that some major player will join (like PayPal/WesternUnion) which will push the market-cap to 1% of the Gold-market (about $7000). So no currency yet... for that we need at least 1% of worlds M2 (about $55000). Which will take some more years. Until then: yes we will have lots of volatile rides in 2014 (which wouldn't look that scary on a logarithmic chart).
Then why post? Bored too much? ------------------------------------------------ I kind of tend to make pretty decent predictions. I predicted the last top of 1200 then crash here on ET, and I was right. My next top expectation was in the 1500-1600 range, but we haven't reached that one yet, crashed earlier caused by fundamentals (negative Chinese news). Anyway, I will keep that next top as prediction. BTC will have a hard time to pass that 1500ish barrier, if it actually gets there...
Yes, I saw screenshots of it several months ago (same time when CNBC showed it as ticker XBT)...but still for their own test purposes.