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Bitcoin Bubble Tracker | Week 5
One thing’s for sure, bitcoin is surely one “old acquaintance” that won’t be forgot in 2014. As we closed the books on 2013, the bitcoin price recovered a bit and the excitement and energy around its future was as bright as the Waterford crystal ball that dropped in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Some bitcoin believers are convinced that the price of bitcoins will rise to more than $10,000! On the other hand, 13 percent of those surveyed about the increase to $10,000 responded with and I quote – “WTF are you smoking’” so there is quite the divide in opinions. 2014 dawned with Bill Harris, former CEO of PayPal and Intuit remarking on Bloomberg Radio that he doesn’t really get Silicon Valley’s fascination with bitcoin at the same time that $25 million was given to a venture to establish a bitcoin POS system and more merchants say that they might be open to bitcoin acceptance across the globe, from shops in the Czech Repulic to the Weird Rodeo theater in the city whose slogan is “Keep Austin Weird.” Well, if the bitcoin fits …
So, here’s the last week’s look at bitcoin. Hope you enjoy, and if you have any news you’d like to share, please send it our way at contactus@pymnts.com.
Bubble Builders
In addition to being anonymous, bitcoin must also be holiday agnostic, There was a lot of activity happening around bitcoin in what was otherwise a quiet week for news in payments, including the launch of a wallet that makes bitcoin even more secret than ever, if that is even possible.
- January 2, 2014 – Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, who is running for a bid against Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in the 2014 Texas Republican Senate primary, is accepting the virtual currency known as Bitcoin for campaign donations
- January 2, 2014 – There is a new cryptocurrency on the block, Coinye West, scheduled to launch on January 11, further proving our point that anything with “coin” in it gets attention.
- January 2, 2014 – A Bitcoin ATM is arriving in Israel.
- January 2, 2014 – The inventor of the first 3D-printed firearm is working to develop a new Bitcoin wallet that would add a second layer of encryption to a Bitcoin transaction to scramble the letters and numbers forming a block chain, known as the Dark Wallet. U.S. security experts are concerned about the legal implications of Dark Wallet and other efforts to make the only truly anonymous digital currency even more opaque.
- January 2, 2014 – Gregory Simon, moved to Nicaragua and bought a .3 acre plot of land with Bitcoin.
- January 2, 2014 – 56% of Bitcoiners believe that the price of Bitcoin will reach $10,000 in 2014.
- January 1, 2014 – Over 30 businesses in the Czech Republic have begun to accept Bitcoin.
- January 1, 2014 – CloudHashing.com announced the industry’s first Bitcoin mining contract guarantee that will undercut all cloud-based competitors.
- December 31, 2013 – Chris Dixon, Andreessen Horowitz VC, publically defended Bitcoin and explained his perspective on the business case for Bitcoin.
- December 31, 2014 – Weird Rodeo theater company in Austin, Texas will be accepting Bitcoin for ticket payments.
- December 31, 2014 – Fortress Investment Group is planning to launch a Bitcoin investment fund.
- December 30, 2013 – Bitcoin miners were given clarification by the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) that they do not need to register with the US government.
- December 28, 2013 – Bitcoin is being accepted by more small merchants, especially in New York City.
Bubble Busters
So here’s a riddle. Bitcoin is lauded for its ability to move money around the world instantly and with little friction. Maybe it’s because the French don’t typically take well to interlopers that don’t speak fluent French, but a recent experience in moving money from the U.S. to France proved really painful, according to the sender. So much for that sales pitch. Last week also saw the dismal scientists come out in droves against this currency to much public resentment and many “defriending” requests from their Facebook friends. And, another bitcoin exchange bites the dust, this time in India.
January 2, 2014 – A survey about IT security found that over 12,000 computers have been infected with Bitcoin related malware and that “Bitcoin mining malware” is infecting computers globally that is leading to an increasing threat of cyber security.
January 1, 2014 – Romain Dillet completed a money transfer from the United States to France using Bitcoin and found it to be a painful experience and due to the amount of time it takes to make the transfer, unreliable due to the high volatility of the Bitcoin market.
December 31, 2013 – Overall, economists are not supportive of Bitcoin. University of Berkeley economist Brad DeLong believes that Bitcoin will fail because the cost of producing a Bitcoin clone is zero. George Mason economist Tyler Cowen agreed and provided a warning about deflation.
December 28, 2013 – The most popular drug bought with Bitcoin on the Silk Road was MDMA.
December 27, 2013 – The largest Bitcoin exchange in India, BuySellBitCo.in shut down after the FRB issued a public advisory against Bitcoin in India. Other exchanges including INBRTC followed BuySellBitCo.in’s lead.
December 27, 2013 – Over 21 million coins were stolen in the Dogecoin hack.
Bitcoin Bubble Tracker | Week 1
Bitcoin Bubble Tracker | Week 2
Bitcoin Bubble Tracker | Week 3
Bitcoin Bubble Tracker | Week 4
