Technology
33 Signs that Bitcoin Growth Isn’t Slowing in 2016
33 Signs that Bitcoin Growth Isn’t Slowing in 2016
It’s been a year of mixed results for cryptocurrency enthusiasts and speculators.
The biggest positive for Bitcoin is that it was actually the best performing currency this year, ahead of the US Dollar and the Israeli Shekel. Bitcoins have climbed a solid 21% in value over the course of the year in USD terms, and even more relative to other currencies. While the cryptocurrency hasn’t reached the heights it did in 2013, this is still a sign of positive strength.
On the other hand, mainstream news around Bitcoin over the course of 2015 has been distracting at best.
Ross Ulbricht, the man supposedly behind Silk Road, was sentenced to life imprisonment in May without the possibility of parole.
More recently, the Hunt for Satoshi has also heated up. Wired and Gizmodo subsequently both published reports that former Australian academic Craig Steven Wright was the creator of Bitcoin. Within hours, his house was raided by Australian police as part of an “unrelated” case. Days later, Wired rescinded its affirmation that Wright was the creator of the cryptocurrency, and instead asserted it was an elaborate hoax.
Lastly, despite close to $500 million in venture capital going into cryptocurrency-related pursuits, so far there hasn’t been any breakthroughs or apps that have captured the public’s eye. There has been progress and recognition around the merits of blockchain technology, but ultimately Bitcoin remains in the trough of disillusionment.
Bitcoin Growth in 2016
Today’s infographic highlights 33 signs that growth in Bitcoin will not slow down in 2016.
In our opinion, here are the most important reasons:
- The total amount of VC investment in Bitcoin since 2012 is $927 million. Over half of this investment has occurred in 2015 alone.
- World-class merchants now accept bitcoins for payment, including: Microsoft, Dell, Expedia, Dish, Overstock, TigerDirect, and Intuit.
- Transaction fees with bitcoins are extremely low: 0.0001 BTC per 1000 bytes.
- Daily transactions occurring with bitcoins amount to about $289 million per day. This is comparable to Paypal ($397 million), Square ($362 million), or Western Union ($216 million).
Original graphic by: BargainFox
Markets
Charted: What are Retail Investors Interested in Buying in 2023?
What key themes and strategies are retail investors looking at for the rest of 2023? Preview: AI is a popular choice.
Charted: Retail Investors’ Top Picks for 2023
U.S. retail investors, enticed by a brief pause in the interest rate cycle, came roaring back in the early summer. But what are their investment priorities for the second half of 2023?
We visualized the data from Public’s 2023 Retail Investor Report, which surveyed 1,005 retail investors on their platform, asking “which investment strategy or themes are you interested in as part of your overall investment strategy?”
Survey respondents ticked all the options that applied to them, thus their response percentages do not sum to 100%.
Where Are Retail Investors Putting Their Money?
By far the most popular strategy for retail investors is dividend investing with 50% of the respondents selecting it as something they’re interested in.
Dividends can help supplement incomes and come with tax benefits (especially for lower income investors or if the dividend is paid out into a tax-deferred account), and can be a popular choice during more inflationary times.
| Investment Strategy | Percent of Respondents |
|---|---|
| Dividend Investing | 50% |
| Artificial Intelligence | 36% |
| Total Stock Market Index | 36% |
| Renewable Energy | 33% |
| Big Tech | 31% |
| Treasuries (T-Bills) | 31% |
| Electric Vehicles | 27% |
| Large Cap | 26% |
| Small Cap | 24% |
| Emerging Markets | 23% |
| Real Estate | 23% |
| Gold & Precious Metals | 23% |
| Mid Cap | 19% |
| Inflation Protection | 13% |
| Commodities | 12% |
Meanwhile, the hype around AI hasn’t faded, with 36% of the respondents saying they’d be interested in investing in the theme—including juggernaut chipmaker Nvidia. This is tied for second place with Total Stock Market Index investing.
Treasury Bills (30%) represent the safety anchoring of the portfolio but the ongoing climate crisis is also on investors’ minds with Renewable Energy (33%) and EVs (27%) scoring fairly high on the interest list.
Commodities and Inflation-Protection stocks on the other hand have fallen out of favor.
Come on Barbie, Let’s Go Party…
Another interesting takeaway pulled from the survey is how conversations about prevailing companies—or the buzz around them—are influencing trades. The platform found that public investors in Mattel increased 6.6 times after the success of the ‘Barbie’ movie.
Bud Light also saw a 1.5x increase in retail investors, despite receiving negative attention from their fans after the company did a beer promotion campaign with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Given the origin story of a large chunk of American retail investors revolves around GameStop and AMC, these insights aren’t new, but they do reveal a persisting trend.
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