By CCN: The second half of the 2019 blockchain calendar is filled with prominent development landmarks for several crypto market heavyweights
Either because of bullish cryptocurrency investor speculation or timely manipulation, these events often coincide with robust price pumps for the coins involved.
A review of projects with imminent Q2 landmarks on the horizon can be found here. In the meantime, here are five popular altcoins with tantalizing pump-worthy prospects scheduled for Q3.
1. Zcash (ZEC) – Ycash ‘Friendly’ Hardfork
The Zcash cryptocurrency could receive a price bump ahead of the “friendly” Ycash fork.| Source: Shutterstock
Free coins are on the way for holders of Zcash in what has been termed the Ycash “friendly fork.” The stated aim of Ycash developers is to reinforce the concept of mining on commodity hardware. They also plan to drastically cut the Zcash founders reward – which sees 2,033 ZEC go to founder Zooko Wilcox-O’Hearn every month. That’s $177,000 at today’s market prices.
Ycash has numerous founding principles, which can be read here. Despite the split, they still plan to benefit from the downstream deployment of Zcash code upgrades. From the announcement notes:
“We believe that both mining on commodity hardware and maintaining the promised cap on the Founders Reward are essential to a fair distribution of coins. In turn, we believe that a fair distribution of coins is essential to ultimately achieving widespread adoption.”
Expected in mid-July, that means the “Swiss bank account of cryptos” might have some home-grown competition on its hands. Hardfork airdrops are often preceded by a flurry of buys, as speculators look to grab a free lunch. Unlike the Bitcoin-to-Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin Cash-to-Bitcoin SV hardforks, this one probably won’t result in a price drop for ZEC holders, given the non-contentious nature of the split.
Expected Date: July 18th
2. Golem (GNT) – Graphene Release
Golem launched in 2016 with aims to become a decentralized ecosystem for cloud-computing on the blockchain. In recent times Golem has been working alongside Invisible Things Lab (ITL) on Graphene – a “library operating system for unmodded applications.”
🆕 New Golem $GNT event!
31 July 2019 (or earlier)
Graphene ReleaseSource: https://t.co/meSgvBTLQo pic.twitter.com/hYzgj2vyps
— CoinMarketCal Bot (@cmcal_bot) May 24, 2019
In layman’s terms, Graphene makes it possible for an OS to run applications that were built for a different system. Intel have shown an interest in Graphene in the past, for use in its Software Guard Extensions (Intel SGX) product. Golem hopes to harness it for use in its own decentralized network.
Golem developer Lukasz Glen commented on Graphene’s progress in a recent Reddit AMA, saying:
“The progress of Graphene is very good. All partners work hard and the stable release will be in July as it was planned. Further development is specified and it looks very promising. Interest in Graphene grows and there are many contributors that participate in development.”
Currently priced in the mid $0.09 range, GNT has nearly doubled since its $0.05 low in early February. That’s still some way off January 2018’s high of $1.25.
Expected Date: July 31st
3. Litecoin (LTC) – Crypto Block Reward Halving
Litecoin’s upcoming halving will tilt the LTC supply/demand balance in crypto investors’ favor. | Source: Shutterstock
In early August the Litecoin block reward will be reduced from 25 to 12.5 LTC. Known in internet headline terms as “the halvening,” this event has historically been a catalyst for price pumps.
This was witnessed in 2016, when Bitcoin’s 10x price increase coincided with the second of BTC’s halvenings. Many expect Litecoin to benefit similarly in the coming months, including CCN’s Kiril Nikolaev – who predicts a $220 price point.
The reduction of block rewards means LTC miners receive less coins for successful blocks mined. This, in turn, increases confidence among holders and cryptocurrency investors, who can be assured of 50% less inflation.
The value of Litecoin has already grown by over 400% since December. How much gas it has left in the tank is up for debate, especially after a Litecoin Foundation director said LTC might be overstretched.
A Litecoin halving countdown clock has been set up in anticipation of the event.
Expected Date: August 6th
4. 0x (ZRX) – V3.0 Upgrade
0x (ZRX) is a protocol for running decentralized crypto exchanges on the Ethereum blockchain. Its code currently underpins multiple ETH-based token exchanges, including Radar Relay, Ethfinex, and Veil – the Augur prediction market app.
The 0x roadmap promises a V3.0 upgrade by Q3 2019 – one that could make a significant impact if it goes ahead. 0x’s concept of meta transactions aims to onboard new cryptocurrency users without them having to buy Ethereum, or set up wallets.
🔥 Hot 0x $ZRX event!
30 September 2019 (or earlier)
V3.0 launchSource: https://t.co/ne6HSsXoQx pic.twitter.com/ZdJB7lWToS
— 1aio.com 💗 👨🚀🚀 (@1aioCom) May 30, 2019
As stated by developer Austin Thomas Griffith, new users don’t care about decentralization or private keys – they just want to use the product. From Griffith’s notes:
“The cypherpunks are really going to hate this one, but users shouldn’t be bothered with downloading a wallet up front. First, they need to use the product and provide value within the Dapp.”
Griffith’s solution would see private keys generated automatically in-browser, attached to a pre-loaded ETH wallet. The user wouldn’t even know about this while using the app. If and/or when they realize what they’ve got, they could then move their funds/collectibles to a wallet.
Expected Date: September 30th
5. NEM (XEM) – Launch of Proof-of-Stake+ Consensus Algorithm
NEM’s “Proof-of-Stake+” algorithm could help the cryptocurrency kickstart its long road to recovery.| Source: Shutterstock
After almost succumbing to the cold of the crypto winter, NEM appears to be on the road to recovery. An updated roadmap released in March details the testnet launch of a new Proof-of-Stake (PoS) algorithm in Q3 of this year.
The new algorithm, named “Proof-of-Stake+,” is aimed at increasing speed and scalability. Part of the upcoming Catapult upgrade, NEM recently surged by 55% overnight in coincidence with the first official update. From the release notes:
“Catapult is a full-featured blockchain engine that can power both private and public networks with its unique smart contract plugins. These plugins enable bulletproof digital asset creation, decentralized swaps, advanced account systems and business logic modeling.”
The new PoS algorithm is expected by late September, while the Catapult mainnet launch follows soon afterward in early Q4.
From its February low in the mid $0.03 range, XEM has almost tripled in value up to $0.094. That’s still more than 20x away from its all-time high of $2.09, which, like all coins on the list, is not certain to be reached again. Regardless, NEM’s blockchain revamp at the end of Q3 could still prove a catalyst for the crypto token’s price.
Expected Date: September 30th
Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice.
