QUALITATIVE GROWTH
After the bubble in 2013 that took Bitcoin from $10 to $1200, the ecosystem saw tremendous growth despite the declining price. Large name retailers such as Dell, Expedia, and even Microsoft started accepting BTC as a form of payment. World renown technologists and investors such as Marc Andreessen and Richard Branson actively endorsed and praised the technology as being the next step in the evolution of money. Even the Chairmen of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke was quoted saying “[Virtual Currencies] may hold long-term promise, particularly if the innovations promote a faster, more secure and more efficient payment system.” These are all people who saw the big picture in the midst of extreme adversity. Pandora’s box had been opened, and no one could stop it.
QUANTITATIVE GROWTH 2013-2014
Lets get into the numbers. During the price decline in 2014, total Bitcoin trading volume went from $15 billion to $25 billion dollars, an increase of 57%. Venture Capital went from $96 million to $335 million, an increase of 342%. The number of countries with VC investment in Bitcoin companies went from 8 to 18, an increase of 125%. The number of Bitcoin wallets went from 2 million to 8 million an increase of 400%. The number of transactions on the network went from 54,000 to over 150,000 per day, an increase of nearly 300%. Merchants adopting Bitcoin as a means of payment went from 14,000 to 45,000, an increase of over 200%. And last but not least, mining power behind the network went from 10,000 TH/s to 300,000 TH/s, an increase of over 30,000%. The question remains, why didn’t any of this get covered or talked about? And I think the answer is complex, but to simplify, Bitcoin made people uncomfortable. It made people question the definition of money itself. Could a new form of currency exist outside of central control and governments? When most people ask themselves this question, they naturally revert to a comfortable state by laughing at it and calling it a joke. However, the reality was that a silent revolution was taking place behind the scenes.
