Recently Coindesk, an excellent news source for all thing cryptocurrency, published a list of the top 10 most influential people in Bitcoin this year (http://www.coindesk.com/10-influential-people-bitcoin-year/). This article highlights both villains and heroes within the community. Heroes such as Marc Andreessen best known for early browser development in the beginning stages of the internet who has become an avid Bitcoin supporter and investor.  As well as villains to the likes of Mark Karpeles, CEO of the collapsed MtGox bitcoin exchange, which cast a looming shadow over the industry for the year. Rarely was there an introductory meeting where I would not have to answer questions regarding the negligence displayed in their office.

Now while it is certainly hard to name just 10 people from truly a list of dozens, most of which are well behind the scenes, I do believe that Coindesk certainly identified the most public, outside of their selection of the anonymous Satoshi of course. These individuals certainly shaped the cryptocurrency landscape as we see it today and continue to do so on a daily basis. But I believe that Coindesk left out one incredibly important person from this list. YOU.

Bitcoin 2014 had its ups and downs, starting the year at over $770 and descending to near $300. But the success of Bitcoin has solely been on the shoulders of the users and merchants, ie: YOU. Even though the valuation of the currency itself has fluctuated, the acceptance rate has not, for 2014 was about one thing and that is adoption. The continued record setting transactional volume seen on the blockchain in addition to the number of new users signing up for a variety of bitcoin services continues to speak volumes as to the true global phenomenon that bitcoin represents. Even the number of global merchants partnering up with payment processing services seems to climb at an accelerating rate. It has been the network and the armies of individuals embracing bitcoin that have allowed for the success.

The Coin Tree is focused at fast-tracking adoption even further in 2015 by producing technology and services that continue to lower the barrier of entry for new users. Changing the targeted customer of highly educated individuals between their early 20’s-early 40’s to a significantly broader moderately educated 18-55 age range. What is seemingly a small step in extending the funnel is indeed a leap into the mainstream.

By: Andrew Durgee

CEO – The Coin Tree

Well the last week of Bitcoin 2014 certainly did not shake out the way many hoped as we find ourselves searching for the reason of the recent price dip. With analysts pointing fingers in nearly every direction it can be difficult to hear through the noise in order to identify the true issues. If we were to draw comparisons to other security markets, we may be able to correlate the data. Investors in US securities often sell off stocks and other assets that have failed to meet their goals in order to avoid paying short-term capital gains taxes. This phenomenon has become so prominent that often firms develop trading concepts around these oscillations. While it remains difficult to determine the exact reason, one thing remains the same, bitcoin is here to stay. With that being said, let’s pull ourselves from the muddled past of 2014 and instead look forward to the bright and shiny new 2015.

One of the more exciting topics of 2015 is derivatives. A large concern for a variety of bitcoin companies including payment processors and miners is the risk associated with maintaining larger quantities of cryptocurrencies. Now with the ability to hedge their digital asset holdings, I believe business will find the idea far more palatable. This stability could not only help to significantly grow existing bitcoin companies but pave the way for a variety of other options.

Other important notes to keep in mind are the transactional volume of the currency itself as we saw record breaking jumps in the volume throughout 2014. That volume will undoubtedly translate into an increase in valuation. This holds especially true versus other non US currencies. As we’ve seen the value of a US barrel of oil approach $50, we have seen other currencies around the world experience drastic value loss. The Russian Ruble alone lost nearly a 3^rd of its value in a matter of a few weeks. This destabilization of local currencies has the potential to push bitcoin value as citizens of these nationals seek financial refuge within the cryptocurrency world.

Bitcoin will continue to stabilize, especially as companies such as The Coin Tree enter the market with easy to use practical applications. Those few of us who are Bitcoin veterans certainly aren’t afraid of a little roller-coaster, I still remember the $32 to $2 collapse a couple years ago. The difference between then and now is simple, then, we weren’t sure where Bitcoin was going to go, now we know that Bitcoin is here to stay. Buckle your safety belts if you’re new to cryptocurrencies, because it will certainly be a wild ride on our way to the moon.

 

By: Andrew Durgee

CEO – The Coin Tree