David Lee

As the former reserve currency of central banks and the default denomination of the global oil market, the United States dollar has dominated the world’s financial system for the past 70 years, as well as served as a safe-haven for those trying to escape their own, crumbling native currencies.

While 2017 was a year of exorbitant gains and lavish dreams, 2018 has crashed the reality of cryptocurrency enthusiasts back to Earth.

Once a unified front, the leadership of Bitcoin Cash has fractured into warring factions, and it appears that it’s headed toward not one, but two contentious forks.

In early August 2018, Beijing-based Bitmain Technologies announced its plan to go public in Q4 2018 to much excitement and fanfare.

Although 2018–full of steep price drops and unfulfilled crypto promises–has been a difficult year for the cryptocurrency market, innovators, investors and legislators continue to build and plan for a blockchain-based future.

The Coinbase-backed venture, Fuel Games, recently launched the presale of Gods Unchained, the world’s first blockchain-based eSports game.

On July 29th, 2018, the City of Hope, a cancer and diabetes research and treatment center, hosted its first annual “If Only” Texas Hold’em Charity Poker Tournament in Los Angeles.

On August 10th, 2018, the SEC will announce their decision to either approve, deny or extend the decision-making period on Cboe/VanEck/Solid X’s Bitcoin ETF.

On June 26th, 2018, the Cboe submitted a Bitcoin ETF proposal to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Marc Lasry, co-founder, and CEO of Avenue Capital Group shared two interesting facts in a recent interview with CNBC.

The MLB, in partnership with blockchain gaming company, Lucid Sights, hopes to boost baseball fandom with the potentially ground-breaking dApp, "MLB Crypto Baseball."

Despite bitcoin's 2018 price slump, bitcoin's hash rate continues to surge at an astonishing pace.

On June 26th, 2018 the SEC received an application for a Bitcoin ETF license from the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) in partnership with Van Eyck Investment and SolidX. The SEC recently published the file and investors and crypto-enthusiasts now eagerly await their decision.

On July 9th, 2018 those who held NEO on March 1st, will receive their share of the second, ten million ONT token airdrop.

On July 6th, 2018, SIX, the owner and operator of the Swiss stock exchange, revealed plans to launch a fully regulated cryptocurrency exchange.

On June 13th, 2018, Chinese security firm Qihoo 360 Total Security announced the discovery of a cryptocurrency clipboard hijacker that infected over 300,000 computers.

Ben Delo, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX is revealed to be Britain’s first Bitcoin billionaire and youngest self-made billionaire.

The advice from Wences Casares to those wanting to be a millionaire is to take 1% of what you own, buy Bitcoin, then wait 5-10 years.