2018 toughest year for investors

2018 would be remembered as one of the harsh and challenging years for investors.

Cryptocurrencies saw their prices nosedive to the record low this year.
The government blacklisted cryptocurrency exchanges and issuing of initial coin offerings. Adding agony to the blockchain industry is a massive hacking of cryptocurrency exchanges. The so-called hard forking war involving Bitcoin cash shook the cyber currency market.

Here is the review of the top five headline stories in the Year of Golden Dog according to the Oriental Zodiac.

1. Bursting of cryptocurrencies bubble

Bitcoin price nosedived to $3,288 on Dec.25, after peaking at the $20,000-range in late 2017. Ethereum, which has been dubbed as the future of the blockchain, sliced off its price by up to 90 percent. Worst of all, Ripple price fell by as much as 95 percent.

2 Korean regulation

Korea completely banned ICOs, and de facto halted trading of cryptocurrencies as banks are reluctant to open accounts with investors.
Blockchain startups could not open accounts with banks for settlement and clearing.

3 Hacking of exchanges

Bithumb and Coinrail lost 75 billion won this year due to hacking. Korea is not alone. Exchanges in Japan and other countries lost more than 1 trillion won through hacking.
The South Korean government has no immediate plan to introduce regulations to protect the cryptocurrency exchanges from hacking. Hacking has tarnished the image of the exchanges, scared away investors, and reduced trading.

4.ICO

The global consulting firm PwC and the Swiss Crypto Valley Association reported that blockchain developers raised $13.7 billion in 537 ICOs in the first eight months of this year.
However. the Satis Group reported that 80 percent of the ICOs are scams.

5.Hard fork war in Bitcoin Cash

Most shocking was the hard fork war involving Bitcoin cash this year. The war triggered the nosedive of Bitcoin, pulling its price down below $4,000, after peaking at $20,000 in late 2017.