The resurrection of bitcoin is upon on us. In 2013, bitcoin was going to change the world, it was set to be a digital revolution, and it was…until the world’s largest bitcoin exchange imploded. Mt.Gox filed for bankruptcy in 2014 and that looked to be the end of the road for bitcoin . But how wrong were we? Today the bitcoin industry is thriving and the calamitous 2014 seems a million miles away. Bitcoin offers a cheaper and simpler alternative of transferring money from place to place, particularly for consumers and businesses moving it overseas, or online retailers accepting international payments. The everyday usage for bitcoin is increasing, In 2015 alone the average number of daily transactions more than doubled in December compared to the same the year previous, while September saw a record high with 240,000 transactions. Whilst bitcoin watcher Tim Swanson concedes that a lot of this usage is just speculation and many of those transactions may just be users changing the location of their funds, Coinbase, the world’s largest bitcoin exchange, is more confident than ever. The San Francisco based exchangers operate roughly 2.8 million bitcoin wallets worldwide, including overlooking bitcoin payments from the likes of Dell. Coinbase states that roughly 20% of its network activity involves payments or use of currency, with payments continuing to rise. Coinbase have revolutionised the idea of bitcoin by revealing the country’s first bitcoin debit card. It is hoped that this will help operate the digital currency towards the mainstream market – and with over 7,500 memberships and $50,000 worth of bitcoin spent to date – this certainly appears to be the case. Although a relatively small figure, the card can be spent anywhere that accepts VISA so the exchanges are confident that people will be persuaded to spend their […]
