Very interesting article, and I completely agree that they are necessary for the growth of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, despite potentially being the crypto equivalent of the federal reserve bank.

Is Tether becoming the cryptocurrency version of a bank? Interesting read from a crypto CEO linked below.

"Fiat-backed stablecoins are therefore rarely actual cryptocurrencies, which causes them to inherit their main characteristics and shortcomings from the centralised banking system. Ultimately, they function in the same manner as fiat, backed by what amounts to an IOU."

https://medium.com/@DDhopn/stablecoins-3b93b4f1ddc5

Check out Plutus, they are creating a card that lets you spend your cryptocurrencies anywhere that accepts visa/Mastercard. When buying something, only the amount of crypto needed to make the purchase can be converted into spendable fiat which then goes to the merchant. This way you don't have to way for the slow process of merchant adoption and can instead utilize the existing payment infrastructures. They are also building a mobile tap & pay app to make purchases also.

They are currently live beta testing some of their products and they say a full launch will be in Q1 2019 but these things always take slightly longer than projects plan. To facilitate the purchases they need an exchange and that part is already fully functioning so its a pretty legit project. Smart team also.

Let me know if you got any questions, websites here https://plutus.it/ could be revolutionary imo

Plutus - A crypto payments platform that lets you spend in cryptocurrencies at over 40 million stores worldwide, currently have a live beta version of their product out, huge potential. When you go to spend, the card converts only the amount necessary to make a payment into spendable fiat which then goes to the merchant. Unlike competitors, they have done this in a decentralized way.

Thank you for putting your list together, very helpful

This is true but it should be important to note that this statistics is not just confined to crypto. 90% of ALL start-ups fail as we live in an incredibly competitive world. The crypto market in general however will grow, money will flood into the successful ones. I'm pinning my hopes on Plutus, they have a strong team, a live beta product, have been around for three years (all the signs of a long-term successful product).

Plutus essentially is a payments platform that lets you spend in crypto anywhere that ordinary fiat cards are accepted. They achieve this by converting only the amount of crypto necessary to make the payment into spendable fiat which then goes to the merchant, its a very clever idea and would make cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin useable as an actual currency, which in my eyes would revolutionize the sector.

Maybe not for speculation purposes, but the best project i've found that is actually adding value to the community (which is what we need) is Plutus. They are creating a crypto card that lets you spend your cryptocurrencies anywhere that accepts visa/mastercard (over 40million stores worldwide), unlike competitors they are achieving this in a decentralized way so its more in line with the Satoshi vision. One of the very few company's to go from white paper to a working beta product. I reckon it's going to be massive in 2019, got a great team and great fundamentals.

websites here https://plutus.it/

Do you believe in the future of crypto? if so it is not the wrong time to buy as in the long-run it should prove profitable. So many crypto companies will be emerging in 2019 that are sure to bring in another wave of crypto adopters. e.g. Plutus are creating a crypto card that lets you spend crypto at any store that accepts visa, this would make Bitcoin useable as an actual currency rather than just an asset and in my opinion, could revolutionize the sector. They already have a live beta version of their product out, can see it here https://plutus.it/

When its red there are still opportunities to make money. Whilst the markets been flat tho I just take some time out to research new coins or cool crypto projects that I think will make a difference. Recently stumbled across Plutus and been testing out their mobile app, lets you trade crypto for free whilst in live beta and they're adding a payment functionality next month that will let you spend your crypto at 40 million stores worldwide. Couple other cool stuff coming out atm, endless research to be done  

Fiat currencies are controlled by a central authority (governments and banking institutions), cryptocurrencies are beyond their control. The government will likely take many precautions to prevent the growth of cryptocurrencies or deploy enough regulation that the digital cash system works on their terms. This is why I think crypto companies that work with the current system will do best, e.g. Plutus is a cryptocurrency payment platform that lets you purchase with crypto at 40million stores worldwide because it utilizes the existing VISA infrastructure and partnered with Contis, a fintech bank.

Maybe not by the end of the year but a bull market will return soon, there's too many behind the scenes start-ups launching products soon that will aid mass adoption (e.g. Plutus crypto debit card that lets you pay in crypto at 40 million stores worldwide)

Plutus for secure cryptocurrency payments (can pay with crypto at 40 million stores globally)

SKY for new decentralized internet

Monero for number one privacy coin

Woop woop good to hear, don't think I can handle the slow process of merchant adoption tho just gonna use Plutus, they're building a crypto debit card that lets you spend crypto at over 40 million stores worldwide by using the existing VISA/Mastercard infrastructure.