Welcome / The future Is Ours
We are starting off CoinSummit 2014 with a word of welcome by Pamir Gelenbe, who is glad to see us all. This is the third CoinSummit by the way, I really thought it was only the second. Learning new things already!
So much has happened since the previous CoinSummit event in London, such as regulation, hashrate, wallet service growth, …. we are still in the very early days though. Bitcoin transaction volume is growing slowly too, but it might be a bit too slow, depending on how you look at it.
How is Europe doing in regards to Bitcoin?
Some of the most successful companies are based in Europe (BitFury, BlockChain.info, LocalBItcoins,…) despite lower venture capitalist investments in Europe. We will hopefully see more funds flowing to European Bitcoin companies this year and next.
A big round of thank you’s went out to the sponsors of the CoinSummit London 2014 event. They have all done an amazing job, whether is was the T-shirt, the livestream, or anything else. Everything is top notch, so a thank you from all of the attendees is in order as well.
Netagio gets a special welcome, as they are one of the first UK platforms which lets you buy and sell Bitcoin instantly. However, you can also buy gold (even with Bitcoin!). Thank you Netagio for the livestream!
Roger Ver
“Everywhere I go I see so many smart people who are passionate about Bitcoin” I couldn’t agree more with this statement. Even though I have only been to two conferences myself, the untapped potential at these events is amazing.
“Bitcoin can only be stopped by shutting off the internet worldwide and keeping it off” A very interest quote, especially because the internet always routes around roadblocks. There is still a lot of work to be done though.
“Don’t be mistaken, BItcoin is not in a bubble or a ponzi scheme.”We all know Bitcoin is not a ponzi game, but the bubble part will always be a topic of heated debate. You can’t deny the current uptrend though, slow and steady.
“Bitcoin payments are a heck of a lot easier to use after jet lag or while on a train.“ Never been on a flight before, but I do agree with the train part. You don’t want to be scrambling for your wallet, make sure you have the right currency,…. Bitcoin is a global currency.
“Internet has changed the world, and Bitcoin will do so too.” This is an analogy which came back a few times during the different panels. It is true though, Bitcoin is changing the world globally, as did the internet, one baby step at a time.
“Bitcoin is a new type of money that has never existed before.” Once money was introduced to the our world, it changed things dramatically, and let to greed, like we currently see with the banks. Bitcoin is a whole different game, and I’m very excited for the future!
“When the largest websites accept Bitcoin, the competitors realise they will have to do so too.” We have seen some big players recently accepting Bitcoin, such as NewEgg, Expedia, and Scan. Maybe Amazon will too at some point? Who knows, we can only hope!
“I think we will see Bitcoin payments accepted by Amazon soon” LIke I just said, a lot of people are waiting for this to happen. I doubt it will be soon though, in a few years seems far more realistic. Then again, you never know what Jeff Bezos has up his sleeve.
‘Bitcoin is worth your time to learn about.’ It is indeed, and there is a lot to learn. Even though I have been looking at Bitcoin since 2011, the technology is evolving quickly, and I find myself learning new things on a daily basis.
State of Bitcoin (Garrick Hileman)
‘Most articles read on CoinDesk are price-related.’ For the outsiders, the only thing relevant about Bitcoin is the price. New features, or new merchants accepting Bitcoin is not om the priority list of non-Bitcoiners.
‘April 11th was when the price bottomed out because of news from China. Since then, we have seen a lot of positive commercial news.’ Positive commercial news also leads to a growing interest in Bitcoin in general. With Mt. Gox out of the way, I think we have a bright future ahead of us.
‘Bitcoin’s share of the marketcap of all cryptocurrencies combined has grown a lot over the past two months.’ Even though we all love our altcoins, they only represent a tiny part of the pie when looking at the whole picture.
“More mainstream media sources are actively covering Bitcoin.” They are indeed, as I have seen Bitcoin articles pop up in my local newspaper. I just wish more of the mainstream media outlets would attend conferences though.
“Bitcoin venture capital investments have grown from 50 million USD to 73 million USD from Q1 to Q2” If this trend continues, we will see more than 100 million USD of venture capital investments in Bitcoin for Q4 2014!
“Europe passed Asia in total Bitcoin venture capital investment in Q2 2014” This might just be the most interesting trend of Q2 2014. Even though most of the Bitcoin is still flowing to Asia, the investment funds are coming to Europe. This has most likely to do with legislation I think.
“We might see more companies pursuing the universal model , or even be absorbed by universal companies. Others will risk fading away.” Companies offering just one service or product can’t rest on their laurels. THey will need to adapt, or perish.
“New applications are making it easier to trust BItcoin : insured wallets, Bitcoin-linked debit cards, transparent balance sheets,…” See my point above, this is exactly the kind of positive news we need to get out to the mainstream media.
“Forecast of number of wallets by december 2014 : ~8 billion” Eight billion Bitcoin wallets. That’s almost one for every person on the planet. It would be awesome if everyone had used a Bitcoin wallet at least once in their life, no?
“Forecast of number of merchants accepting Bitcoin by december 2014 : 100k” We have come so far in only a few years to be honest. At this rate, we will reach half a million merchants sooner rather than later. I look forward to that!
“It is heartwarming to see so many passionate developers involved with Bitcoin, on GitHub, Android, iOS,..” Bitcoin is so much more than a piece of software on a computer though. We are all a part of Bitcoin.
“It looks like Bitcoin regulation has seen a positive trend since April.” The beginning of the year was all about governments trying to steer people away from Bitcoin. However, since April, things have been looking up. Let’s hope this trend continues.
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