5 Bitcoin Trends That Have Emerged in 2014 (So Far)

Tom Sharkey (@tom_sharkey) | Published on July 13, 2014 at 11:11

The bitcoin landscape is evolving so rapidly that it’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through the year.
Like any new industry, there are so many areas to explore in the bitcoin space that a week’s worth of developments can sometimes feel like a month or two have gone by.
Bitcoin has certainly seen a lot of action in 2014. The collapse of Mt. Gox, hefty venture capital investments in bitcoin startups and the US government auction of 30,000 bitcoins seized from the Silk Road all generated buzz in the mainstream media.

CoinDesk’s recent State of Bitcoin Q2 2014 report highlights some of the key developments that have influenced bitcoin’s journey over the past few months, providing context for the digital currency’s ever-changing position in society.
While only time will tell what’s in store for bitcoin’s future, a number of trends have emerged in the industry this year that could shape the direction and velocity of bitcoin’s growth.
Here are five bitcoin trends that have emerged in the first half of 2014:

1. Big-name retailers jumping on board

The year started with a bang when Overstock became the first major retailer to accept bitcoin. News of Overstock’s success with the digital currency served as a signal for other large companies to follow suit.
Electronics retailer TigerDirect integrated bitcoin as a payment option by the end of January, and other household names like the Sacramento Kings, Lord & Taylor and REEDS Jewelers got on board soon after.
By the end of June, three companies with at least $2bn in annual revenue had begun accepting bitcoin: DISH, Expedia and Newegg.
With smaller businesses also continuing to accept bitcoin at a fervent pace, we estimate that around 100,000 merchants will accept bitcoin by the end of 2014:

State of Bitcoin Q2 2014

2. A warming regulatory climate

While it certainly hasn’t been all smooth sailing between governments and bitcoin this year, it seems like tides are changing and regulators around the world are starting to take a more open-minded approach to the digital currency.
In the beginning of 2014, China’s stance on bitcoin was ambiguous at best. By April, China’s Central Bank Governor said that banning bitcoin was “out of the question,” referring to it as more of an asset than a currency.
Russia, after releasing stern warnings about bitcoin early this year, recently reconsidered its stance on the digital currency.
Gerogy Luntovsky, the deputy chairman of Bank of Russia, explained that his agency is going to take time to examine bitcoin as the industry continues to evolve:

“At this stage, we need to watch how the situation develops with these kinds of currencies. These instruments should not be rejected.”

Progress has also been made in places like California, where Governor Jerry Brown has granted bitcoin ‘legal money’ status, and Switzerland, where similar ‘legal money’ regulations are being considered.
Regulators seem increasingly willing to hold off on impulsive legislation in favor of working with the bitcoin community to find the best resolutions to prevent money laundering and fraud without stifling innovation.

3. VC firms keep betting big

Not everybody is as slow as governments to embrace bitcoin.
Serious venture capital investments in bitcoin companies were already taking place in 2013, but VCs have certainly kicked it up this year, with a total of $150m having already been invested in 2014.
With 2014′s Q2 VC investments reaching $73m (up from $57m in Q1), CoinDesk estimates that by the year’s end, 2014 VC investments in bitcoin companies will have surpassed 1995 VC investments in Internet companies:

State of Bitcoin Q2 2014

The venture capital flowing into the bitcoin space supports the industry’s infrastructure both explicitly and implicitly: startups gain access to resources that allow them to build much-needed products and services around the Bitcoin protocol, and the investors’ confidence in the digital currency brings legitimacy to bitcoin’s reputation.

4. Building on the block chain

Most people who take the time to really learn about bitcoin realize that the true genius in Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention is not the coins themselves, but rather the block chain.
The term ‘Bitcoin 2.0′ is often used to describe applications that use the technology of the block chain to address issues like smart contracts and identity verification that were once impossible to solve in a decentralized way on the Internet.
Jeff Garzik, one of the bitcoin protocol’s core developers, described the significance of the block chain beyond the scope of digital currencies:

“As a computer scientist, and in computer science in general, when you talked about building distributed systems, there tended to be a purely theoretical view about how computers would talk to each other, how to keep them coordinated. Satoshi and the blockchain really solved that problem in an elegant and unexpected way.”

Block chain-focused startups like BlockScore and BlockCypher have already secured funding this year from investors. As 2014 rolls on, expect to see new uses of the block chain technology solving problems in a uniquely decentralized manner.

5. New emphasis on transparency

The collapse of Mt. Gox, once the biggest bitcoin exchange in the market, was a wake-up call to many in the community.
The former exchange’s CEO Mark Karpeles was notoriously opaque in the months leading to its bankruptcy, causing confusion among users who held bitcoins on Gox.
Ultimately many people lost BTC through the course of Mt. Gox’s downfall. Outcries from the community started pouring in, demanding other big exchanges prove their solvency with professional audits.
Exchanges like Bitstamp, Kraken and Coinbase all agreed to be audited in the aftermath of Mt. Gox’s liquidation.
The demand for more transparency in the industry doesn’t stop at exchange audits, though. Revered bitcoin evangelist Andreas Antonopoulos recently took to Twitter to announce his departure from the Bitcoin Foundation, citing a lack of transparency as a primary concern:
If the first half of 2014 proves anything, it’s that the technology underlying bitcoin is resilient even under catastrophic circumstances (Mt. Gox), and that the community is willing to rally together in bringing bitcoin to mass adoption.
There’s a reason people call it the “honey badger of money.”

US Marshals: One Auction Bidder Claimed All 30,000 Silk Road Bitcoins

Stan Higgins | Published on July 1, 2014 at 21:45 BST

The US Marshals Service (USMS) has announced that a single, undisclosed bidder claimed all of the roughly 30,000 bitcoins seized from online black market Silk Road and sold in its recent auction.
The winning bidder outbid all other parties for the 10 auction blocks, according to the USMS. Further, the bitcoins have already been transferred to the winner, according to Blockchain.
The USMS previously said that it would begin notifying bidders as to whether they had secured any of the blocks on 30th June. The auction took place on Friday, 27th June over a 12-hour span.
In a statement, the USMS said:

“The US Marshals Bitcoin auction resulted in one winning bidder. The transfer of the bitcoins to the winner was completed today.”

The auction was structured into 10 blocks, with the first nine consisting of 3,000 BTC and the last one featuring 2,656.51306529 BTC.

Results trickle in

The news follows an earlier announcement from the USMS on 30th June, when the agency said that 45 registered bidders took part in the process. At the time, the federal agency didn’t have a clear number on the final amount of winning bids.
The USMS released the auction date and procedural details last month. At the time, the federal agency outlined how participants could express interest in the roughly $18 million worth of bitcoin.
Since then, a number of key bidders, including SecondMarket founder and CEO Barry Silbert, have outlined their participation in the auction. Silbert later announced via Twitter that his auction syndicate, which consisted of 42 bidders for a total of 186 bids, was outbid on every bitcoin block.
The syndicate formed just part of a broader pool of known or possible bidders, a number of which were inadvertently released by the USMS. Other bidders included Pantera Capital and Bitcoin Shop, both of which have confirmed that they did not enter the winning bid.
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GBBG Bitbillions Blog A Much Sweeter Deal

                     

A Much Sweeter Deal  If ever there was a time to get excited about your GBBG|bitbillions business, this is it. Things have been developing over the past several weeks that are bound to rock this opportunity wide open. With less than 2,000 Co-Founder positions available, we are getting closer to the launch of the Matrix Stage every day. What we are about to reveal in this post may just start a feeding frenzy and get us there much faster than anticipated.

 To get a better appreciation for what we are about to reveal, we think you should review some very important details of the GBBG|bitbillions opportunity. As you should be fully aware, it is 100% free to participate and earn with our program. Members are not required to spend a single penny at all. Every member earns points for various activities.

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 If you are a free member and you watch video ads on GBBG|bitfeud, you earn points. And, as a free member you may also participate in every single flash sale. Each month, we set aside a portion of the advertising revenue generated from GBBG|bitfeud and place it up for grabs in the flash sales. Every single aspect of bitfeud is open, 100%, to free members, with no cost or obligation whatsoever. There is absolutely no upgrade requirement or payment necessary to earn points or participate in the flash sales. The revenue for the flash sales comes 100% from advertising sales on GBBG|bitfeud.

 If you are a free member and you view ad pages on GBBG|iwantacar, you earn points. And, as a free member you also have an equal chance to win a brand new car. Each month, we set aside a portion of the advertising revenue generated from GBBG|iwantacar and place it into a fund. When the fund is large enough, we conduct a drawing for a brand new car. Every single aspect of GBBG|iwantacar is open, 100%, to free members, with no cost or obligation whatsoever. There is absolutely no upgrade requirement or payment necessary to earn points or participate in the new car drawings. The revenue for the new car drawings comes 100% from advertising sales on GBBG|iwantacar.

 If you are a free member and you view ad pages on GBBG|mybitcoinrewards, you earn points. And, as a free member you also have an equal chance to win free bitcoins. Each month, we set aside a portion of the advertising revenue generated from GBBG|mybitcoinrewards and place it into a fund. Each week, we conduct drawings and give away free bitcoins from this fund. Every single aspect of GBBG|mybitcoinrewards is open, 100%, to free members, with no cost or obligation whatsoever. There is absolutely no upgrade requirement or payment necessary to earn points or participate in free bitcoin drawings. The revenue for the bitcoin drawings comes 100% from advertising sales on GBBG|mybitcoinrewards.

 Why are we going through so much trouble to spell all this out? Because we want you to fully understand the fact that participation in every single aspect of GBBG|bitbillions is 100% free. There is no purchase or upgrade necessary to participate in flash sales, to win a car, or to share in our earnings. All you need to do is get points. Points are the key to everything with GBBG|bitbillions.

 As you should be fully aware, we are currently in the Co-Founder Stage of our business plan. During this stage, we are laying the foundation for our long-term business. We are researching and developing our software, establishing server infrastructure, and building out the operational and managerial processes of the business. During this stage we are also establishing lifetime partnerships with our members which we anticipate to be immensely profitable and mutually beneficial.

 The Matrix Stage is the event everyone is working towards. Why? Because in the Matrix Stage, everyone begins to share a greater portion of revenue.
 During the Matrix Stage, GBBG sets aside a portion of the revenue generated from advertising sales on bitcoinfaucet, bitfeud, iwantacar, and mybitcoinrewards and places it into the Matrix Fund. GBBG also sets aside a portion of the revenue generated from Preservation of Wealth and places it into the Matrix Fund. GBBG also sets aside a portion of the revenue generated from GBBG|ware and places it into the Matrix Fund. During the Matrix Stage, a portion of all revenue generated by GBBG is placed into the Matrix Fund each month.

 Every month, GBBG will distribute the money in the Matrix Fund to all members who earned points. Each member will get their fair share of the money based on their share of the total points. It is very important to remember, there is absolutely no upgrade requirement or payment necessary to earn these points or share in the revenue. The revenue in the Matrix Fund comes 100% from advertising sales, co-marketing deals, product sales, software services, and other goods and services GBBG sells directly to clients.

 What we hope you fully understand now is that members are not required to pay for upgrades, pay for products, pay for services, or pay for anything. It is 100% free to join, earn points, and participate in every aspect of GBBG|bitbillions. Just by getting points, you can share in the revenue we generate from other sources. And that is about to be a MUCH SWEETER DEAL!

 Up to this point we have been describing basic aspects of the current GBBG|bitbillions business. We have been defining where the revenue comes from that you are earning. And, we have been making the point loud and clear that it is absolutely FREE to participate and earn. Now, we are going to explain why this is the single greatest time to be excited about your GBBG|bitbillions business ever.

 GBBG|ADVERTISINGNETWORK  In July, GBBG will launch our very own, stand-alone advertising network. We are developing a unique platform where publishers (people with websites) can embed our ad widgets into their sites and earn bitcoins. In addition, members can earn by referring both publishers and advertisers to our network.
 This powerful new source of revenue should produce a massive, growing earning stream from clients entirely independent of our membership.
 Web publishers will have a unique publisher site where they sign in and manage their ad widgets. They can embed video ads, text ads, and banner ads into their sites. Our unique system will award them a point every single time they deliver a view (impression). Publishers will get their fair share of the advertising revenue of the entire network based on their share of the overall points. In addition, they will earn GBBG points and can share in the GBBG Matrix if they desire.

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 So, how does this incredible platform affect you as a member?

 First, it means MORE MATRIX REVENUE. Yes! More money flowing into the Matrix Pools. Second, it means more referral commissions. You will be paid a nice commission every time an advertiser buys an ad in the network, if you referred the advertiser. In addition, the points generated by a publisher will impact your Matrix Bonus, if you referred the publisher. It is truly a winning situation all the way around for our members.

 PLANS FOR JULY  In July we plan to implement our secondary security system to safeguard your profile email address and payment address. Watch for these security enhancements and be sure to implement them. Once they are live, you will be able to prevent hackers and hijackers from altering your email address and/or payment address. It is our goal to make your GBBG|bitbillions account as safe and secure as possible.
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 In July we plan to begin rolling out information about the new Dandi project. Our goal was to begin this roll-out in June. However, due to ongoing legal work we have yet to finalize this roll-out. Dandi is a huge, earth-shattering project. Therefore, we must make sure every single “I” is properly dotted and every “t” is properly crossed before we launch. We can tell you that important breakthroughs are happening. We are certain Dandi will be incorporated and launched from a geographic region outside of the USA. It will be based in a location that is very friendly to virtual currency. In addition, there is a slight possibility that people all over the world will be able to participate in the equity of Dandi.

 Depending upon the success of the roll-out of our new publisher platform, we may be able to roll-out the new advertiser platform in July. As you surely must understand, we must first gather a large base of publishers before we can successfully implement the advertiser platform. Our goal is to get the entire stand-alone advertising network rolling as quick and smooth as possible.

 SUMMARY  It is 100% free to participate in every single aspect of GBBG|bitbillions. All you need to do is join and earn points. The rest is taken care of automatically. If you want to exponentially expand your earnings, you should actively refer other members. When the new advertising network is launched, you can further exponentially expand your earnings by referring publishers and advertisers.

 Things are developing every day at GBBG headquarters. We are a growing, profitable business. We are generating increasing revenues through advertising sales, Preservation of Wealth commissions, software development services, and other activities. We are working diligently on the launch of Dandi, which we know will be a global game-changer. In addition, we now have an up and coming global advertising platform that is sure to bring revenue pouring in. How much of it do you plan to get?
 

• bitadmin
• June 28th, 2014