At the beginning of 2015, the prospects for the virtual currency Bitcoin looked grim. Bitcoin's value had plunged from a peak value of $1,240 in December 2013 to a low of $177.28 on January 14, 2015. Around ten months earlier, security and stability fears were heightened after the largest Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, collapsed from within and filed for bankruptcy. They revealed that approximately 850,000 Bitcoins (worth $473 million at that time) had been "lost" and presumed stolen.
Meanwhile, the dark side of Bitcoin's use was in the news thanks to the trial of Ross Ulbricht, the mastermind of the Silk Road website. Silk Road was well known to be a useful facilitator for Bitcoin transactions involving illegal activities, and the trial of Ulbricht was certain to bring those issues back into the spotlight.
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