bitcoin meetup 7 presentation state of bitcoin
TRANSCRIPT
•Personal Introductions•Rihards Gailums, Riga High Tech University, "State of Bitcoin 2015 report. Analysis and discussions»
•Brainstorm: Bitcoin Education Curriculum•Announcements•Summary
Agenda
Who am I
What I am doing
What is my Bitcoin experience
Introduction
Featured events
BITCOIN PRICE
1BTC = 277 $
Featured Startup
Sponsors
For Startups by Meetup members:
$1800 per year of FREE Azure cloud servicesFree Microsoft software and tools
Latvijas Garantiju Aģentūra
Government corporations which supports Latvian entepreneurs
and helps in realisation of their business ideas.
Speakers
State of Bitcoin 2015
7th January 2015
Contents
1. 2014 in Review
1. Q4 Summary
• Price and Valuation
• Media
• VC Investment
• Commerce
• Technology
• Regulation and Macro
26State of Bitcoin 2015
About CoinDesk
• World leader in digital currency news, prices and information
• The Bitcoin Price Index serves as an industry reference point
• International team headquartered in London
• Editors based in London, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo
27State of Bitcoin 2015
28State of Bitcoin 2015
2014 in Review
Summary
29State of Bitcoin 2015
Sustained price pressure may lead to a shakeout in the mining sector and likely consolidation among exchanges
Overall, 2014 was a ‘tale of two bitcoins’ – the bitcoin economy made progress while bitcoin’s price saw a steady decline
All-time bitcoin VC investment passed $400m in Q4 and exceeded early-stage Internet investment in 1995
Q4 saw some regulatory clarity with welcomed revisions to the NY BitLicense and no new major regulatory setbacks
Larger businesses continue to adopt bitcoin, with Microsoft and Time accepting bitcoin in Q4
Bitcoin was the worst-performing currency in 2014, down 67% and another 18% so far in 2015
Key Bitcoin Adoption Metrics
30State of Bitcoin 2015
Sources and notes: CoinDesk, Blockchain.info, BitcoinPulse, Github, Coin ATM Radar. Figures are cumulative from start of records, except unique bitcoin
addresses and media mentions, which are figures for the quarter ending that month.
Quarterly Last 12 Months
Dec-14 Sep-14 Q/Q Δ Dec-13 Δ
Commerce
Wallets 7,948,272 6,559,978 21% 3,194,584 2x
Merchants 82,000 76,000 8% 35,903 2x
Merchants’ annual revenue ($bn) 180 86 109% 0 N/A
ATMs 341 251 36% 4 85x
Unique bitcoin addresses 157,377 184,554 -15% 108,166 45%
Industry
All-time VC investment ($m) 432.7 302.9 43% 97.9 4x
Number of VC-backed startups 83 68 22% 30 3x
Media
Mainstream media mentions 673 687 -2% 2,889 -76%
Technology
Network hash rate (billion/second) 335,365,290 249,839,180 34% 9,920,977 34x
Github no. of updated repositories 23,249 18,753 24% 4,410 5x
Valuation
Bitcoin market capitalization ($bn) 4.3 5.2 -17% 9.3 -54%
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
$800
$900
$1 000
Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14 Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14
11 Apr
PBOC official
says China will
not ban bitcoin
11 Aug
Blockchain first
company to pass
over 2m bitcoin
wallets
11 Dec
Microsoft adds
bitcoin payments
for Xbox games
and mobile content
Key Events and Price Chart in 2014
31State of Bitcoin 2015
23 Sep
PayPal
announces
bitcoin
partnerships
11 Feb
Massive DDoS attack exploits
transaction malleability bug
Source: CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index, daily data collected at 00:00 UTC www.coindesk.com/price
18 Jul
Dell
announces it
will accept
bitcoin
18 DecFavorable revisions
made to proposed NY
BitLicense
18 Jun
List of possible
Silk Road bitcoin
bidders leaked by
US Marshals
6 Mar
Newsweek claims to
have found bitcoin
inventor Satoshi
Nakamoto
25 Feb
Mt Gox closes,
announces
744,408 BTC
($350m) missing
12 Jun
$18m in Silk
Road bitcoins
sold by US
Government2 Jul
VC Tim Draper
revealed as Silk
Road bitcoin
auction winner
Total Exchange Trading Volume
Increased by Over 50%
32State of Bitcoin 2015
Sources: CoinDesk, Blockchain.info, Bitcoinity
Total Bitcoin Trading Volume (BTC)
51
80
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
2013 2014
Millions
$15
$23
$0
$5
$10
$15
$20
$25
2013 2014
Billions
Total Bitcoin Trading Volume ($bn)
2014 Bitcoin Venture Capital Investment
33State of Bitcoin 2015
$433m$335m
Total VC investment in
cryptocurrency startups to date:2014 bitcoin VC investment:
$96m2013 bitcoin VC investment:
+342%Increase in total to-date VC investment from end of 2013:
Source: CoinDesk (www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-venture-capital/)
Two Biggest VC Deals in 2014
34State of Bitcoin 2015
$30m $30.5m(Series A) October 2014(Series A) May 2014
Source: CoinDesk (www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-venture-capital/)
2014 Bitcoin VC Investment Surpassed
Early-Stage Internet Investment
35State of Bitcoin 2015
*Includes first sequence venture deals but excludes late-stage 1995 Internet investments ($257.6m). For additional disclosure
on methodology see www.coindesk.com/following-money-trends-bitcoin-venture-capital-investment/
$95.8
$334.8
$250,1
$0
$50
$100
$150
$200
$250
$300
$350
2013 Bitcoin 2014 Bitcoin 1995 Internet*
Bitcoin vs Early Internet VC Investment ($m)
Sources: CoinDesk, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Number of Countries With Bitcoin VC
Investment Grew From 8 to 18 in 2014
36State of Bitcoin 2015
New countries receiving investment for bitcoin companies in 2014: Japan, Netherlands, Panama,
Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden, Germany, India, Mexico, Argentina
Countries
receiving
first VC
investment
in 2012-13
Countries
receiving
first VC
investment
in 2014
Source: CoinDesk (www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-venture-capital/), generated by DataWrapper
2013 vs 2014 Investment Shift Towards
Wallets, Mining and Financial Services
37State of Bitcoin 2015
2013 vs 2014 VC Investment by Ecosystem Category
Source: CoinDesk (www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-venture-capital/)
$25,4 $26,7
$49,7
$69,5 $75,4
$88,1
$40,5
$24,0
$3,2
$12,1 $15,0
$1,1 $0
$10
$20
$30
$40
$50
$60
$70
$80
$90
$100
Universal Exchange PaymentProcessor
Mining FinancialServices
Wallet
2014 VC Investment (millions) 2013 VC Investment (millions)
Companies Moving into New Product Categories
38State of Bitcoin 2015
WalletInfrastructure
Jul 2013+
Wallet +Exchange
Sep 2014
Payment Processor
+Infrastructure
Feb 2014
Exchange
Sep 2014+
Source: CoinDesk
Mergers and Acquisitions Announced in
2014, More Expected in 2015
39State of Bitcoin 2015
Oct 2014
Aug 2014
Aug 2014
Jul 2014
Source: CoinDesk
Number of Universal Bitcoin Companies
Doubled in 2014
40State of Bitcoin 2015
• Universals operate across more than
one aspect of the bitcoin value chain
(eg Coinplug provides payment
processing, wallet and ATMs)
• More and more bitcoin startups
continue to pursue the universal
model
• Universal bitcoin companies leverage
two key elements of financial
services: efficiency and trust
The Universals
2013
2014
Total Altcoins Grew from 64 to 590 in 2014, Bitcoin’s
Market Cap is 6X Larger Than the Next Biggest
41State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: CoinMarketCap data as of 3rd Jan 2015
Rank Name MarketCap
1 Bitcoin $ 4,132,670,815
2 Ripple $ 706,795,764
3 Litecoin $ 79,521,355
4 BitShares $ 38,420,086
5 PayCoin $ 35,959,731
6 MaidSafeCoin $ 23,917,169
7 Nxt $ 18,392,947
8 Stellar $ 17,713,142
9 Dogecoin $ 17,145,911
10 Peercoin $ 11,573,821
42State of Bitcoin 2015
Q4 2014
43State of Bitcoin 2015
Price and Valuation
CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index –
Q4 & YTD by the Numbers
44State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index, daily data collected at 00:00 UTC
www.coindesk.com/price
$300
$325
$350
$375
$400
$425
$450
30-sep 07-okt 14-okt 21-okt 28-okt 04-nov 11-nov 18-nov 25-nov 02-dec 09-dec 16-dec 23-dec 30-dec
Bitcoin’s Price Fluctuated Throughout Q4 on Mixed News
45State of Bitcoin 2015
11 Dec
Microsoft adds bitcoin
payments for Xbox
games and mobile
content3 Oct
Russia proposes
monetary penalties
for bitcoin use and
promotion
Source: CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index, daily data collected at 00:00 UTC www.coindesk.com/price
16 Oct
Bitcoin Group
seeks to launch
world's first
Bitcoin IPO
Boost VC goes
‘full bitcoin' for
next startup
mentor round
22 Nov
4 DecDaily bitcoin
transactions pass
100,000 milestone10 Dec
Hacker returns
225 BTC taken
from Blockchain
wallets
18 Dec
Lawsky outlines
relaxation of New
York BitLicense
12 Nov
Bitcoin price
surges past $400
mark for the first
time since mid-
October
Monthly Exchange Trading Volume
Increased in Q4 …
46State of Bitcoin 2015
Sources: CoinDesk, Bitcoinity
0
2 000 000
4 000 000
6 000 000
8 000 000
10 000 000
12 000 000
14 000 000
16 000 000
18 000 000
jan.14 feb.14 mar.14 apr.14 mai.14 jūn.14 jūl.14 aug.14 sep.14 okt.14 nov.14 dec.14
Monthly Bitcoin Trading Volume (bitcoins)
…and Recently Surpassed Previous Highs
From End of 2013
47State of Bitcoin 2015
Sources: CoinDesk, Bitcoinity
0
2 000 000
4 000 000
6 000 000
8 000 000
10 000 000
12 000 000
14 000 000
16 000 000
18 000 000
Jan-13 Apr-13 Jul-13 Oct-13 Jan-14 Apr-14 Jul-14 Oct-14
Monthly Bitcoin Trading Volume (bitcoins)
State of Altcoins: Growth Rate of New Altcoins Slowed in Q4
by More Than 15%, Market Cap Share Steady at 9%*
48State of Bitcoin 2015
Sources: CoinMarketCap, Internet Archive
Tota
l N
um
ber
of A
ltcoin
s
*Altcoin market cap share calculated by dividing the sum of all non-bitcoin cryptocurrency market caps by all cryptocurrency market caps
(including bitcoin). For example, if altcoins have 8% market value share, then bitcoin has 92% market value share. Total number of altcoins
is the number at the end of each quarter.
64
216
347
483
590
68,4%
237,5%
60,6%
39,2%
22,2%
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Dec-13 Mar-14 Jun-14 Sep-14 Dec-14
Total Number of Altcoins
Quarterly Growth in NewAltcoins
49State of Bitcoin 2015
Media
Selection of Q4’s Biggest Bitcoin Stories
50State of Bitcoin 2015
White-hat hacker exploits security flaw in
Blockchain wallets to take 255 BTC
Microsoft is now the most notable business on
the list of bitcoin-accepting businesses
Overstock significantly misses 2014
bitcoin sales projections
Bitcoin
network
difficulty
declined for
first time in
two years
News Coverage of Bitcoin Declined on Most Mainstream
News Sites in Q4
51State of Bitcoin 2015
News Published Mentioning Bitcoin
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
FT
NYT
WSJ
Sina
Q3 2014
Q4 2014
Note: Numbers of stories obtained by searching ‘bitcoin’ on respective publishers’ websites
Sources: respective publishers’ websites
‘Bitcoin Price’ is Top Q4 Search Term,
‘Bitcoin Bowl’ Achieved High Share
52State of Bitcoin 2015
Past 90 Days
Related Searches: Top Related Searches: Rising
Past 12 Months
Source: Google Trends data as of 3rd Jan 2015
53State of Bitcoin 2015
VC Investment
Two Biggest Bitcoin VC Deals in Q4
54State of Bitcoin 2015
$30.5m $21m(Series A) November 2014(Series A) October 2014
Source: CoinDesk (www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-venture-capital/)
Q4 Bitcoin Venture Capital Investment Nearly
Doubled Q3 Total
55State of Bitcoin 2015
$433m$130m
Total VC investment in
cryptocurrency startups to date:Q4 2014 bitcoin VC investment:
$64mQ3 2014 bitcoin VC investment:
Sources: CoinDesk (www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-venture-capital/), CrunchBase
+43%Increase in total to-date VC investment from end of Q3:
Europe Continues to Heat Up as Overall Investment Share
Increased in Q4, Largest Regional Q/Q% Increase
56State of Bitcoin 2015
RegionsQ4
($m)
Q3
($m)
Q/Q Δ
($m)Q/Q Δ
US &
Canada285.4 215.8 69.6 32%
Europe 99.2 48.7 50.5 104%
Asia 31.0 26.9 4.1 15%
Middle
East10.5 5.5 5.0 91%
Latin
America6.0 6.0 0.0 0%
Total 430.5 303.5 127.4 42%
$ Invested as of Q3
• Middle East had the second largest Q/Q% increase in investment
• US & Canada share declined slightly, but still dominated with 66% of all VC $
to dateNote: $ invested represents all-time total bitcoin VC investment at the end of each respective quarter. The
headquarters of one company receiving VC investment in Q4 is unknown.
Sources: CoinDesk (www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-venture-capital/), CrunchBase
$ Invested as of Q4
US & Canada
71%
Europe16%
Asia9%
Middle East 2%
Latin America
2%
US & Canada
66%
Europe23%
Asia7%
Middle East 3%
Latin America
1%
While the US Continues to Dominate Bitcoin VC
Investment, Total Share Declined by 11% in Q4
57State of Bitcoin 2015
Sources: CoinDesk (www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-venture-capital/), CrunchBase
$0,2 $0,3 $0,3 $0,3 $0,5 $0,6 $0,8 $1,2 $1,8 $3,4 $4,0 $6,9 $10,5 $14,9 $18,1 $25,0
$40,7 $42,9
$260,4
$0
$50
$100
$150
$200
$250
$300
Total Funding (millions)
Silicon Valley’s Share of All-Time Bitcoin VC Investment
Declined Slightly From 29% in Q3 to 27% in Q4
58State of Bitcoin 2015
Tech hub
concentrationValue ($m)
No. of
companies
Silicon Valley 116.4 15
Rest of World 316.3 68
Total 432.7 83
• Total number of VC-backed bitcoin companies increased from 68 in Q3 to 83
in Q4, a 22% increase
$ Invested No. of Companies
Sources: CoinDesk (www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-venture-capital/), CrunchBase
Silicon Valley27%
Rest of World73%
Silicon Valley18%
Rest of World82%
The Bitcoin Startup Ecosystem:
Six Different Bitcoin Company Categories
59State of Bitcoin 2015
Universal
Payment
Processing
Wallets
Mining
Financial
Services
Exchanges
Wallets Raised the Most Funding in Q4,
Followed by Mining and Financial Services
60State of Bitcoin 2015
Q4 VC Investment by Ecosystem Category (millions)
Sources: CoinDesk (www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-venture-capital/), CrunchBase
$2,7 $2,7
$16,0
$33,6 $34,8
$40,0
$0
$5
$10
$15
$20
$25
$30
$35
$40
$45
Universal
Exchange
Payment Processor
Mining
Financial Services
Wallet
Financial Services Took Over Universal, Receiving the Most VC
Investment
61State of Bitcoin 2015
• Wallets, Financial Services and Mining sectors continued to receive the lion’s share
of investment in Q4
• Universals only received $2.7m in last quarter
$ Invested as of Q3$ Invested as of Q4
Note: $ invested represents all-time total bitcoin VC investment at the end of each respective quarter.
Sources: CoinDesk (www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-venture-capital/), CrunchBase
Universal 15%
Financial Services
21%
Mining 19%
Wallet21%
Exchange 12%
Payment Processor
12% Universal 21%
Financial Services
18%
Mining 16%
Wallet16%
Exchange 16%
Payment Processor
13%
SectorQ4
($m)
Q3
($m)
Q/Q Δ
($m)Q/Q Δ
Universal 66.5 63.8 2.7 4%
Financial
Services90.4 55.6 34.8 62%
Mining 81.6 48.0 33.6 70%
Wallet 89.2 49.2 40.0 81%
Exchange 50.7 48.0 2.7 6%
Payment
Processor54.3 38.3 16.0 42%
Total 432.7 302.9 129.8 43%
Q4 Investment Rounds in Bitcoin Startups
62State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: CoinDesk (http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-venture-capital/)
Close Date Company Size ($m) Round Select Investors Headquartered
Dec-14 Bitreserve 9.5 Second Undisclosed San Francisco
Dec-14 BitGold 3.5 ThirdPowerOne Capital, Soros Brothers
Investments, Sandstorm GoldToronto
Dec-14 PeerNova 8.6 FirstMosaik Partners, Steve Case,
Crypto Currency PartnersSan Jose
Dec-14 ChangeTip 3.5 First
Pantera Capital, 500 Startups,
Boldstart Ventures, CryptoCurrency
Partners
San Francisco
Dec-14 DigiByte 0.25 Seed Undisclosed Santa Monica
Dec-14 GetGems 0.6 Seed Magma VC Unknown
Nov-14 Purse.io 0.3 SeedRoger Ver, Bobby Lee, Terrence
Yang, FundersClub, StrongVCSan Francisco
Nov-14 Blockstream 21 First
Reid Hoffman, Khosla Ventures,
Real Ventures, Crypto Currency
Partners
Montreal
Q4 Investment Rounds in Bitcoin Startups
(contd.)
63State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: CoinDesk (http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-venture-capital/)
Close Date Company Size ($m) Round Select Investors Headquartered
Nov-14 Dogetipbot 0.45 SeedBlackbird Ventures, Scott and Cyan
Banister, Individual InvestorsRedding
Nov-14 CoinOutlet 0.05 Seed BitcoinShop New York
Oct-14Spondoolies-
Tech5 Second
Agile Wings, BRM Group, Genesis
Partners, Olivier JanssensKiryat Gat
Oct-14 BitLendingClub 0.25 Seed LAUNCHub San Francisco
Oct-14 Bitnet 14.5 First
Highland Capital Partners,
Rakuten, James Pallotta, Stuart
Peterson
San Francisco
Oct-14 AlphaPoint 1.35 SeedBen Franklin Technology Partners,
Robin Hood VenturesNew York
Oct-14 Coinsetter 1.3 First Unknown New York
Oct-14 BitFlyer 0.24 Seed Bitcoin Opportunity Corp. Tokyo
Q4 Investment Rounds in Bitcoin Startups
(contd.)
64State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: CoinDesk (http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-venture-capital/)
Close Date Company Size ($m) Round Select Investors Headquartered
Oct-14 Libra 0.5 SeedLiberty City Ventures, James
Pallotta, Ben DavenportSan Francisco
Oct-14 Melotic 1.18 SeedCeyuan Ventures, Lightspeed
China, Bitcoin Opportunity CorpHong Kong
Oct-14 Devign Lab 0.2 Seed K Cube Ventures Seoul
Oct-14 BitFury 20 SecondBill Tai, Bob Dykes, Georgian Co-
Investment Fund, Lars RasmussenAmsterdam
Oct-14 Coinplug 2.5 FirstMirae Asset Venture Investment,
Bokwang Investment CorpSeoul
Oct-14 Blockchain 30.5 FirstLightspeed Ventures, Wicklow
Capital, Mosaic VenturesYork
Oct-14 SolidX 3 FirstLiberty City Ventures, James
PallottaNew York
Oct-14 Snapcard 1.5 SeedTim Draper, Crypto Currency
Partners, Insikt VenturesSan Francisco
65State of Bitcoin 2015
Commerce
>82,000 Merchants Now Accept Bitcoin,
Up From 75,000 in Q3 (+9%)
66State of Bitcoin 2015
44K 38KSources: Coinbase and BitPay
Total merchants Forecasted merchants
140,000 Bitcoin-Accepting Merchants
Forecast by End of 2015
67State of Bitcoin 2015
Sources and notes: total current merchants based on data from Coinbase and BitPay. Historical Coinbase data provided by BitcoinPulse.
BitPay historical data between new merchant press release announcements of 10,000 (16th Sep 2013), 20,000 (13th Jan 2014) and 30,000
(28th May 2014), respectively, calculated using linear interpolation.
R² = 0,962
0
20 000
40 000
60 000
80 000
100 000
120 000
140 000
160 000
Growth in Bitcoin-Accepting Businesses
Slowed Throughout 2014
68State of Bitcoin 2015
Sources: CoinDesk, Bitcoinity
13 903
16 800
12 936
10 360
6 000
0
2 000
4 000
6 000
8 000
10 000
12 000
14 000
16 000
18 000
Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014
Number of New Bitcoin-Accepting Businesses Added Each Quarter
Companies Representing >$180 Billion in
Annual Revenue Now Accept Bitcoin
69State of Bitcoin 2015
Top 10 Largest Bitcoin-Accepting Retailers
*Monprix is a private company; most recent revenue data is from 2005. TigerDirect estimate provided by parent company investor relations. Other divisions
that are part of a larger parent organization, but do not break out individual divisional revenues, are excluded.
Rank Company Annual Revenue ($bn)
1 Microsoft 86.8
2 Dell 56.9
3 Dish Network 13.9
4 Expedia 5.0
5 Intuit 4.5
6 Monprix* 4.3
7 Time Inc.** 3.4
8 NewEgg 2.8
9 Overstock 1.3
10 TigerDirect* 1.0
Total $179.9
**The revenue is Time Inc. FY 2013 revenue
Sources: CoinDesk, Coinbase, BitPay, companies’ annual reports
What Do People Buy with Bitcoins?
Home Goods & Consumer Electronics
70State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: most popular items purchased through Purse.io by November 2014
Trashbags Coffee Grinder Infant Formula
Home
Goods
Bluetooth SpeakerDigital CameraPlaystation
Consumer
Electronics
Total Wallets Forecasted Wallets
Approximately 12 Million Bitcoin Wallets
Forecast by End of 2015
71State of Bitcoin 2015
R2 = 0.971
Sources and notes: total wallets based on data from Blockchain.info, MultiBit, Coinbase, Andreas Schildbach (Android Bitcoin Wallet
developer). Historical Coinbase data provided by BitcoinPulse.
0
2 000 000
4 000 000
6 000 000
8 000 000
10 000 000
12 000 000
14 000 000
jan.1
3
mar.
13
mai.13
jūl.13
sep.1
3
no
v.1
3
jan.1
4
mar.
14
mai.14
jūl.14
sep.1
4
no
v.1
4
jan.1
5
mar.
15
mai.15
jūl.15
sep.1
5
no
v.1
5
jan.1
6
Daily Bitcoin Transactions Passed
100,000 for the First Time in Q4
72State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: Blockchain.info
• Questions linger over how significant a milestone this is, given uncertainty over
how many of these transactions represent bona fide economic activities
Now Over 320 Bitcoin ATMs
Around the World
73State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: CoinDesk (www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-atm-map/)
1213246
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
Oct-13 Jan-14 Apr-14 Jul-14 Oct-14 Jan-15 Apr-15 Jul-15 Oct-15 Jan-16
Total ATMs Forecasted ATMs
Approximately 750 Bitcoin ATMs Forecast by
End of 2015
74State of Bitcoin 2015
R2 = 0.973
Sources: CoinDesk, CoinATMRadar
Lamassu Led ATM Deployments in 2014,
Skyhook Became Second Largest
75State of Bitcoin 2015
Lamassu
accounts
for over a
third of the
bitcoin ATM
market
Sources: CoinDesk, CoinATMRadar
Most Bitcoin ATMs Located in Stores,
Restaurants and Coffee Shops
76State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: CoinDesk, www.coindesk.com/6-charts-show-massive-bitcoin-atm-growth-2014/
77State of Bitcoin 2015
Technology
0
5 000 000 000
10 000 000 000
15 000 000 000
20 000 000 000
25 000 000 000
30 000 000 000
35 000 000 000
40 000 000 000
45 000 000 000
jan.14 feb.14 mar.14 apr.14 mai.14 jūn.14 jūl.14 aug.14 sep.14 okt.14 nov.14 dec.14
Bitcoin Network Difficulty Declined for First
Time in Two Years
78State of Bitcoin 2015
The drop in difficulty was
expected due to depressed
bitcoin prices*
*CoinDesk examined the issue in September 2014 and concluded that difficulty could reverse if prices do not recover www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-mining-
can-longer-ignore-moores-law/
Source: CoinDesk
Bitcoin Mining Difficulty
Discus Fish
AntPool
GHash.IO
KnCMiner
BTCChina Pool
BTC Guild
Slush
Unknown with 1AcAj9p Address
Eligius
P2Pool
Bitcoin Affiliate Network
Unknown with
1BwZeHJ Address
BitMinterMegabigpowerMegaBigPower
EclipseMC
mmpool
Polmine
CloudHashing
Unknown
Mining Pools: GHash Continues to Shrink,
No Permanent Solution for 51% Attack Risk Yet
79State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: 4-day average as of 3rd Jan 2015 blockchain.info/pools
CoinBase’s API Gaining Traction With
44 Bitcoin Apps Built on it
80State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: CoinBase
Bitcoin Developer Ecosystem Continues to Grow
81State of Bitcoin 2015
Number of created repositories in GitHub with bitcoin in the name or description
Source: BitcoinPulse
Number of Bitcoin Nodes Has Leveled Off in
Last Two Quarters
82State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: BitcoinPulse
Crypto 2.0 Projects to Keep an Eye on in 2015
83State of Bitcoin 2015
BitAssets – allowing traders to hedge
against bitcoin's fluctuations
Alternative blockchain to bitcoin’s
Decentralised social messenger
Bringing smart contracts to market
Source: CoinDesk
Bitcoin Companies are Collaborating on
Security Across Industry Sectors
84State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: CoinDesk
Adoption of Multi-signature (Multisig) Wallet
Security Increased in 2014
85State of Bitcoin 2015
• Multisig: advertised as the digital equivalent of a safe deposit box.
• At the beginning of 2014, only 0.02% of all bitcoins featured multisig
security, that number is now more than 5%.
• These companies now utilize multisig:
Source: BitGo
86State of Bitcoin 2015
Regulation and Macro
Over 250 Academic Articles on Bitcoin to Date
Cover a Wide Range of Research Topics
87State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: Peer-to-Peer Review: The State of Academic Bitcoin Research 2014 by Brett Scott.
Word Cloud of 250 article titles generated using Tagul.
A Number of Countries Expressing Interest
in Regulating Bitcoin as a Commodity
88State of Bitcoin 2015
• US Commodities Futures and Trading Commission said it had oversight over
bitcoin and digital currencies because they could be defined as a commodity.
• Bitcoin has been classified as a commodity in Finland after the Scandinavian
country’s central bank declared that it did not meet the definition of a currency.
• Grant Spencer, deputy governor of New Zealand's Reserve Bank, said bitcoin
"behaves more like a commodity than a currency”.
Source: CoinDesk
Some Positive Developments with
New York’s BitLicense Regulatory Framework
89State of Bitcoin 2015
• New York’s BitLicense regulatory proposal
widely regarded as a possible framework for
other jurisdictions.
• Ben Lawsky announced the latest revisions
to the draft BitLicense in mid-December.
• Clarified and narrowed which players in the
digital currency industry would be required to
obtain a BitLicense.
• Fewer disclosure and record-keeping
requirements for transactions.
• The proposed record-keeping
requirement for licensees reduced from 10 to
seven years.
• Broader range of financial assets (that
includes virtual currency) that can be
counted towards licensees' capital
requirements.
Ben Lawsky
Source: CoinDesk
Some Bitcoin Firms are Making Progress with Banking
Relationships
90State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: CoinDesk
Safello first to
partner with UK
bank
Unisend re-
established
partnership with
a state bank
UK Banks
Russia is Illustrative of the Topsy-Turvy
Nature of Bitcoin Regulation
91State of Bitcoin 2015
3 Oct
Russia proposes
monetary penalty
for bitcoin usage
and promotion
4 Dec
Russian
conference
presses on under
threat of bitcoin
ban
10 Nov
Russia lowers
proposed
penalties for
bitcoin activities
29 Dec
Russian
ministry
criticises draft
bill banning
bitcoin
9 Oct
Russia's startups
seek refuge
abroad under threat
of bitcoin ban
6 Oct
Russia seizes
bitcoin mining
equipment in incident
at China border
Source: CoinDesk
Highlights for bitcoin in 2014
• 25% mention more merchants’ acceptance, VC investment and
technology improvement
Biggest setback for bitcoin in 2014
• 33% mention price drop and Mt Gox’s collapse
What to look forward to for bitcoin in 2015
• 83% expect bitcoin VC funding to surpass investment in 2014
• 54% indicate US and Argentina are likely to see greater relative
adoption of bitcoin
• 42% mention security development as a focus
• 33% mention bitcoin seeing more traction in emerging markets
Highlights from Bitcoin Thought
Leaders Survey
92State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: CoinDesk Bitcoin Thought Leader Annual Survey (an informal survey sent to a small number of bitcoin community influencers)
Factoring in Remittance Fees Makes Sub-
Saharan Africa Most Fertile Market for Bitcoin …
93State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: Hileman (2014) ‘Bitcoin Market Potential Index’, London School of Economics working paper.Announcement article: www.coindesk.com/argentina-most-likely-adopt-bitcoin/
BMPI Regional Distribution -Top 30
BMPI Regional Distribution -Top 10
Asia 0%
Europe 10%
Middle East & North
Africa 10%
Latin America
20%
US & Canada
10%
Sub-Saharan
Africa 40%
Post-Soviet/Communist 10% Asia
7%
Europe 3%
Middle East & North
Africa 13%
Latin America
17%
US & Canada 3%
Sub-Saharan
Africa 40%
Post-Soviet/Communist 17%
Illegal
Restricted
Legal
… Yet Bitcoin Regulation in Africa
Lags Behind the Rest of the World
94State of Bitcoin 2015
Source: Wikipedia
Bitcoin Startup pitch
• A description of the problem - what is currently wrong with the field of cryptocurrencies and what should be changed. Technical, technological, legal, educational and other aspects.
• Description of the Bitcoin Education programm goal - what have to be changed. The activities and results .
• What specific steps need to be taken in order to achieve the aims and what would the results be when the project is still ongoing?
• What would be the "wow" effect of Bitcoin education project and what would make it stand out from the rest?
Discussion around Bitcoin education:
Announcements
- Want to develop Bitcoin project?;
- Looking for Bitcoin developer, job offers;
- Bitcoin service offers;
- Event announcements;
- Start-up projects, introductions.