Highlight from CoinDesk report.
There’s no getting around the fact that Q1 2014 has been a rough one for bitcoin. Coming off of an unprecedented high of $1,200 in November of 2013, bitcoin prices began a steady march downward as governments around the world began taking a serious look at what had previously been seen as little more than internet funny money used by hackers and drug dealers. China’s bitcoin policies alone can be attributed to most of the major price dips in Q1.
Of course, other issues like the collapse of Mt.Gox and the introduction of IRS tax rules in Q1 did little to help the price recover. Prices were still in steep decline for most of Q1, falling from $756 to a low of $360 by April.
But the picture isn’t entirely grim. Venture capital investment in bitcoin-related businesses is at an all-time high, comparable with 1994-era internet investment, with nearly $100 million flowing into the ecosystem in Q1. Xapo, Circle and Kraken all received significant funding this quarter, and the total investment in bitcoin companies rose to around $200 million in the last few months. With a wealth of smaller startups also receiving initial rounds of seed funding in the $100,000 to $1 million range, bitcoin is about to become very, very noisy.
The entire report is worth reading, touching on the growth of media coverage, merchant adoption and other important topics.
