New Year Predictions: Bitcoin Drops, Ripple Rises, Retail Takeovers, And The Trillion-Dollar Market Cap

Now that 2018 is finally here, everyone on Wall Street is making predictions about what the market will bring this year. To celebrate the New Year, Benzinga took to Twitter with a handful of polls asking traders to make predictions about several key stories that will be impacting the market this year. Here’s a rundown of the results.

2018 Swan Song?

Benzinga asked about three struggling brick-and-mortar retailers and whether they could survive 2018 on their own. Nearly half (48 percent) of respondents think Sears Holdings Corp SHLD won’t make it through 2018 on its own, while 74 percent believe at least one out of the group of Sears, J C Penney Company Inc JCP or Barnes & Noble, Inc. BKS is doomed this year.

Race To $1 Trillion

Another big run in 2017 has Apple, Inc AAPL within a stone’s throw of becoming the world’s only $1 trillion company. Benzinga asked which company (if any) would hit the $1 trillion mark in 2017. Nearly four out of five respondents expect a trillion dollar company by the end of 2017, but 39 percent expect that company will be Amazon.com, Inc AMZN rather than Apple (29 percent).

Bitcoin Bubble?

Bitcoin was a huge story in 2017, with the Bitcoin Investment Trust GBTC finishing the year up about 1,600 percent. Benzinga asked where traders see the popular cryptocurrency finishing 2018.

It should come as no surprise that predictions about the polarizing digital currency were mixed. The most popular prediction (39 percent) was that bitcoin prices are headed back below $10,000, but three out of 10 respondents are predicting bitcoin will more than double again in 2018.

Crypto Craze

But bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency game in town. Benzinga asked which of the second-tier cryptocurrencies traders expect to perform best in 2018.

If traders’ predictions come true, 2018 could be a huge year for Ripple.

Overall, 2017 was a great year for most investors, with the S&P 50 finishing the year up roughly 20 percent. The story of 2018 will be all about whether the nine-year bull market will finally start running out of steam or whether the impressive positive 2017 momentum will carry over into 2018 as well.

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