After a stable September for the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin is expected to hit US$10,319 (£7,951) by the end of the year. That’s according to personal finance comparison site finder.com’s latest Cryptocurrency Predictions Survey.

While some of the nine survey panellists gave predictions for BTC as high as US$20,000 (£15,384) by the end of 2018, this is balanced by more conservative predictions from others, with the lowest coming in at US $5,200 (£4,000).

Despite a downward trend over the past three months, with panellists’ BTC predictions for end-of-year decreasing for the third consecutive month, they gave positive forecasts by the end of 2018 for almost all coins.

Cardano to end year on high

Cardano is expected to see the greatest growth by the end of 2018, at 159% to US$0.20 (£0.15). This is followed by Monero and Ethereum, with forecasted growth of 93% and 79%, respectively. XRP is the only coin set to experience long-term decline, with a projected decrease of 8% by the end of 2018.

In terms of short-term performance by 1^st November, Monero and Ethereum are expected to increase the most (43% and 37% respectively). The smallest increases come from Bitcoin Cash and EOS (just 1%). XRP and Litecoin are set to see a fall over the next month, with forecasted drops of 8% and 3% respectively.

Many attribute poor short-term performance to the upcoming decision about two exchange-traded funds (ETF) by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and anticipate the decision to affect the market over the coming months.

Comparing the forecast market capitalisations for Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum, the only three of the ten coins with reported number of coins available, Ethereum is predicted to see the highest growth by the end of the year (79%). This is followed by Bitcoin with a 62% increase, and Bitcoin Cash, with an increase of 17%.

Jon Ostler, UK CEO at finder.com, says: “Cryptocurrency is currently a bearish market, with our panellists’ BTC predictions for end of 2018 decreasing for the third consecutive month in a row. The issue of the pending ETF decision by the US Securities and Exchange Commission is still on our panellists’ minds, with some citing the decision as the main indicator of short-term performance and anticipating it to affect the market for months to come.”

The nine panellists in the October Cryptocurrency Predictions Report:

Craig Cobb, Founder of TraderCobb.com.

Alisa Gus, CEO of WishKnish.

Fred Schebesta: Co-founder of finder.com and HiveEx.com.

Joseph Raczynski, technologist, futurist, Joetechnologist.com and Reuters, technology consultant and manager specialising in blockchain technology.

Sarah Bergstrand, COO of BitBull Capital.

Joerg Molt, CEO of the Satoshi School.

Richard Galvin: CEO of Digital Asset Capital Management.

Nir Rozin, Founder of Spaceship Dealers.

Genson Glier, Co-founder and CEO of BlockToken.AI.