Eric Piscini is the CEO of Citizens Reserve and the former blockchain lead for Deloitte. 

The following is an exclusive contribution to CoinDesk’s 2018 Year in Review. 

Blockchain moves so quickly that last month’s news sometimes feels like ancient history. But instead of thinking about our crypto winter, this month I’ve been thinking about the early days of blockchain.

We’ve come a long way, but still have far to go. In 2012, I launched Deloitte’s blockchain practice with two friends, and the following year, I moderated a panel at the Money2020 conference. Blockchain was so new it didn’t even have a proper name yet: the panel I led was called “Bitcoin 2.0.”

However, we knew more would come from the industry. Charlie Lee, David Johnson, and Taariq Lewis were talking about self-governing organizations, about digitized commodities, and about decentralized business models. Most of the room was completely lost. I was energized.

As we close 2018, one of the key lessons is that the most important stories in cryptocurrency aren’t always the ones with the loudest headlines. Despite being the center of many discussions, the “crypto winter” doesn’t strike me as the key story of 2018. What do I think was more important?

First, the rise of “other” tokens — security tokens, non-fungible tokens, stablecoins, and equity tokens demonstrated the continued vitality of the blockchain community. That a single year, and a tough year at that, saw so many diverse and innovative products proves the enduring value of the blockchain.

Second, significant investments in cryptocurrency and blockchain infrastructure from traditional financial institutions and new technology companies mean we have much stronger foundations to build on: wallets, trading technologies, custodian solutions, exchanges, broker solutions, and more.

Finally, the regulatory environment. While a certain strain of crypto enthusiast might believe regulation sounds a death knell for blockchain, I think this viewpoint is misguided on two counts. First, regulation removes and discourages the bad actors who have done such harm to blockchain’s reputation. Second, regulation proves that blockchain is here to stay.

There’s no need to regulate a fad; it will expire well before a bill reaches committee. An enduring new asset, however, needs a place in a legal framework. Legislators have decided that blockchain is growing, not evaporating.

What do I expect to see in 2019? Given the speed and volatility of cryptocurrency, you’ll have to allow me some margin of error, but here’s what I see coming in the next 12 months:

To return again to that long-ago Money 2020 conference: it’s rare to be speaking to a single visionary, much less three. Most of the ideas that Charlie, David and Tariq discussed that day were so forward-looking that they were, at the time, dismissed as impossible or ignored as incomprehensible.

Today, many of their ideas have become implementations. Tomorrow, more will follow.

I’m beginning to wonder if those pie-in-the-sky predictions for 2020 were, in fact, too conservative. Who knows what we’ll see next year? Sometimes, good ideas arrive too early. Time and again, I’ve seen that the difference between genius and stupidity, between a project that will succeed versus one that is premature, is 18 months.

Have an opinionated take on 2018? CoinDesk is seeking submissions for our 2018 in Review. Email news [at] coindesk.com to learn how to get involved. 

Winter sun via Shutterstock

This article has been updated.