It's been a wild year for cryptocurrencies and Steemit, there's no doubt about it.
Steem has gone up and down, Bitcoin has fluctuated itself into the 5 digit realm, and Ethereum is becoming more popular. People are realizing the true potential of decentralized, anonymous things.
2017 has been the year of cryptocurrency awareness. Before, where only a few people and places accepted things like Bitcoin or Ethereum, now everyone knows about cryptos. They know that a Bitcoin is a form of virtual cash, but most people can't explain it on their own. They know the price has been going up and up, and more and more people now have cryptos, but not everyone accepts Bitcoin, or really understands it.
That's why I think, with some time, most people will understand the concept of Bitcoin and other cryptos. They'll understand that everything is decentralized, peer-to-peer, and based on its users and nodes. I truly believe that 2018 will be the year cryptocurrencies are understood and adopted. Now that cryptos are beginning to become popular, people will feel the need to truly understand them. More and more people will want to get their hands on bitcoin. People will begin to accept cryptos as payment more and more. However, I don't think that everyone will have bitcoin or something similar just yet. Some people just don't want to mess with that technology, fearing they would mess up somehow and lose all their money (which is perfectly reasonable and possible) and some people would just want cold hard cash.
Without a doubt, people will realize the value of these digital currencies and begin to understand them, but not everyone. There will always skeptics and critics no matter what, as with anything that ever existed.
As for 2019, it's anyone's guess. Digital currencies could collapse, they could grow to enormous sizes, they could become more stable or fluctuate wildly. One thing I'm sure about is that there's a lot in store for cryptocurrencies.
But anyway, enough with my rambling predictions. Happy New Year Steemians! 