Bitcoin 2014 – Top 10 predictions

[bitpop]

Both miners are scams. This article is shit. Ignorant.

[guybrushthreepwood]

I would be happy even if the price reached $1500 this year. Any growth is good and a slow and steady one is even better 

Well I think you'll be very happy. If even one semi-big retailer accepts it this will have remarkable push on the price. The slow adoptin of many smaller retailers will also have a creeping effect.

[EvilPanda]

I would be happy even if the price reached $1500 this year. Any growth is good and a slow and steady one is even better 

Well I think you'll be very happy. If even one semi-big retailer accepts it this will have remarkable push on the price. The slow adoptin of many smaller retailers will also have a creeping effect.

Overstock's acceptance didn't move the price up, some even say it pushed it down.

[guybrushthreepwood]

I would be happy even if the price reached $1500 this year. Any growth is good and a slow and steady one is even better 

Well I think you'll be very happy. If even one semi-big retailer accepts it this will have remarkable push on the price. The slow adoptin of many smaller retailers will also have a creeping effect.

Overstock's acceptance didn't move the price up, some even say it pushed it down.

I'd never even heard of Overstock until they announced there involvement with Bitcoin, but let's change 'semi-big' to 'big' then lol.

[pungopete468]

I would be happy even if the price reached $1500 this year. Any growth is good and a slow and steady one is even better  

Well I think you'll be very happy. If even one semi-big retailer accepts it this will have remarkable push on the price. The slow adoptin of many smaller retailers will also have a creeping effect.

Overstock's acceptance didn't move the price up, some even say it pushed it down.

It's not an instant event.

Overstock actually pushed the price down because they instantly sell for USD at whatever the current asking price might be. The force that drives the price back up is the people who want to buy a good or service and realize that they can save money by buying Bitcoin today and spending it in a few weeks.

[guybrushthreepwood]

I would be happy even if the price reached $1500 this year. Any growth is good and a slow and steady one is even better  

Well I think you'll be very happy. If even one semi-big retailer accepts it this will have remarkable push on the price. The slow adoptin of many smaller retailers will also have a creeping effect.

Overstock's acceptance didn't move the price up, some even say it pushed it down.

It's not an instant event.

Overstock actually pushed the price down because they instantly sell for USD at whatever the current asking price might be. The force that drives the price back up is the people who want to buy a good or service and realize that they can save money by buying Bitcoin today and spending it in a few weeks.

I doubt the price falling had anything to do with Overstock. It was just a coincidence.

[pungopete468]

Of course it did; there's no way it wouldn't.

The people who spent BTC with overstock were not all likely to have sold BTC on other exchanges that day at the current price. The buy bids remained relatively unchanged while there was an increase in sell volume bringing the price down until the market equalized.

BTC has been all good news recently. It's not speculation that brought the price down this time. The price will go up as more people enter the market.

[rext]

Right now bitcoin market rates are just ranging, relax.

[guybrushthreepwood]

Of course it did; there's no way it wouldn't.

The people who spent BTC with overstock were not all likely to have sold BTC on other exchanges that day at the current price. The buy bids remained relatively unchanged while there was an increase in sell volume bringing the price down until the market equalized.

BTC has been all good news recently. It's not speculation that brought the price down this time. The price will go up as more people enter the market.

Any evidence of this or are you just assuming that this happened? Overstock was not the only thing that happened with BTC around the world when the price fell.

[pungopete468]

I'm only asserting my interpretation of what I've read in the current Bitcoin world events and the overall market trend. I believe it's a reasonable interpretation.

I read dozens of comments across several articles about the acceptance of Bitcoin on Overstock.com where people were buying goods merely in support of the movement towards the acceptance of Bitcoin. I can't say for certain that these people weren't planning on selling on that same day. I can say that I bought something from Overstock.com with Bitcoin that I otherwise planned to purchase through Amazon, and I certainly have no intentions of selling my BTC right now. I'm merely extrapolating my own experience and the effect which that might have across the network.

Overstock sold 145 BTC on the first day at the highest existing bids in over a thousand BTC transactions. I just can't see any way in which that wouldn't lower the current price.

[guybrushthreepwood]

I'm only asserting my interpretation of what I've read in the current Bitcoin world events and the overall market trend. I believe it's a reasonable interpretation.

I read dozens of comments across several articles about the acceptance of Bitcoin on Overstock.com where people were buying goods merely in support of the movement towards the acceptance of Bitcoin. I can't say for certain that these people weren't planning on selling on that same day. I can say that I bought something from Overstock.com with Bitcoin that I otherwise planned to purchase through Amazon, and I certainly have no intentions of selling my BTC right now. I'm merely extrapolating my own experience and the effect which that might have across the network.

Overstock sold 145 BTC on the first day at the highest existing bids in over a thousand BTC transactions. I just can't see any way in which that wouldn't lower the current price.

It's a possible sceanraio, but not certain.

And are you sure they sold them? Don't the Bitcoins just go to the payment processor and Overstock gets the cash deposited?

[pungopete468]

I'm only asserting my interpretation of what I've read in the current Bitcoin world events and the overall market trend. I believe it's a reasonable interpretation.

I read dozens of comments across several articles about the acceptance of Bitcoin on Overstock.com where people were buying goods merely in support of the movement towards the acceptance of Bitcoin. I can't say for certain that these people weren't planning on selling on that same day. I can say that I bought something from Overstock.com with Bitcoin that I otherwise planned to purchase through Amazon, and I certainly have no intentions of selling my BTC right now. I'm merely extrapolating my own experience and the effect which that might have across the network.

Overstock sold 145 BTC on the first day at the highest existing bids in over a thousand BTC transactions. I just can't see any way in which that wouldn't lower the current price.

It's a possible sceanraio, but not certain.

And are you sure they sold them? Don't the Bitcoins just go to the payment processor and Overstock gets the cash deposited?

I agree it's not certain.

If they weren't sold Coinbase would be assuming a tremendous financial risk just by holding them. If I were a shareholder in a company who chose not to minimize risk I probably wouldn't appreciate that too much. Coinbase needs to profit from these transactions as well and they can't promise a return if they operate on speculation.

[guybrushthreepwood]

I'm only asserting my interpretation of what I've read in the current Bitcoin world events and the overall market trend. I believe it's a reasonable interpretation.

I read dozens of comments across several articles about the acceptance of Bitcoin on Overstock.com where people were buying goods merely in support of the movement towards the acceptance of Bitcoin. I can't say for certain that these people weren't planning on selling on that same day. I can say that I bought something from Overstock.com with Bitcoin that I otherwise planned to purchase through Amazon, and I certainly have no intentions of selling my BTC right now. I'm merely extrapolating my own experience and the effect which that might have across the network.

Overstock sold 145 BTC on the first day at the highest existing bids in over a thousand BTC transactions. I just can't see any way in which that wouldn't lower the current price.

It's a possible sceanraio, but not certain.

And are you sure they sold them? Don't the Bitcoins just go to the payment processor and Overstock gets the cash deposited?

I agree it's not certain.

If they weren't sold Coinbase would be assuming a tremendous financial risk just by holding them. If I were a shareholder in a company who chose not to minimize risk I probably wouldn't appreciate that too much. Coinbase needs to profit from these transactions as well and they can't promise a return if they operate on speculation.

They might hold some. I have no idea how their business practices work within that regard. Do they even have shareholders?

[pungopete468]

I'm only asserting my interpretation of what I've read in the current Bitcoin world events and the overall market trend. I believe it's a reasonable interpretation.

I read dozens of comments across several articles about the acceptance of Bitcoin on Overstock.com where people were buying goods merely in support of the movement towards the acceptance of Bitcoin. I can't say for certain that these people weren't planning on selling on that same day. I can say that I bought something from Overstock.com with Bitcoin that I otherwise planned to purchase through Amazon, and I certainly have no intentions of selling my BTC right now. I'm merely extrapolating my own experience and the effect which that might have across the network.

Overstock sold 145 BTC on the first day at the highest existing bids in over a thousand BTC transactions. I just can't see any way in which that wouldn't lower the current price.

It's a possible sceanraio, but not certain.

And are you sure they sold them? Don't the Bitcoins just go to the payment processor and Overstock gets the cash deposited?

I agree it's not certain.

If they weren't sold Coinbase would be assuming a tremendous financial risk just by holding them. If I were a shareholder in a company who chose not to minimize risk I probably wouldn't appreciate that too much. Coinbase needs to profit from these transactions as well and they can't promise a return if they operate on speculation.

They might hold some. I have no idea how their business practices work within that regard. Do they even have shareholders?

They do.

It was a startup company funded by venture capital. Those who invested are shareholders entitled to returns on company profits.

I'm not certain of their business practices either but I do understand what's expected of them.

[guybrushthreepwood]

I'm only asserting my interpretation of what I've read in the current Bitcoin world events and the overall market trend. I believe it's a reasonable interpretation.

I read dozens of comments across several articles about the acceptance of Bitcoin on Overstock.com where people were buying goods merely in support of the movement towards the acceptance of Bitcoin. I can't say for certain that these people weren't planning on selling on that same day. I can say that I bought something from Overstock.com with Bitcoin that I otherwise planned to purchase through Amazon, and I certainly have no intentions of selling my BTC right now. I'm merely extrapolating my own experience and the effect which that might have across the network.

Overstock sold 145 BTC on the first day at the highest existing bids in over a thousand BTC transactions. I just can't see any way in which that wouldn't lower the current price.

It's a possible sceanraio, but not certain.

And are you sure they sold them? Don't the Bitcoins just go to the payment processor and Overstock gets the cash deposited?

I agree it's not certain.

If they weren't sold Coinbase would be assuming a tremendous financial risk just by holding them. If I were a shareholder in a company who chose not to minimize risk I probably wouldn't appreciate that too much. Coinbase needs to profit from these transactions as well and they can't promise a return if they operate on speculation.

They might hold some. I have no idea how their business practices work within that regard. Do they even have shareholders?

They do.

It was a startup company funded by venture capital. Those who invested are shareholders entitled to returns on company profits.

I'm not certain of their business practices either but I do understand what's expected of them.

Ah, ok. Then I'd have to see their business plan if that was available. Maybe it includes keeping some BTC as an investment which they hope to reinvest, but I have no idea.

[kaysersoze]

This video is a interview with Coinbase CEO, it will answer your questions, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwG1roO70co

Ah, ok. Then I'd have to see their business plan if that was available. Maybe it includes keeping some BTC as an investment which they hope to reinvest, but I have no idea.
[/quote]

[pening]

7. The use of Bitcoin will evolve beyond ‘store of value’ or ‘transactions’

The underlying Bitcoin protocol makes itself applicable beyond the use cases of ‘store of value’ and ‘payments’. The Bitcoin foundation took a huge step in allowing meta data to be included in the blockchain. This will unlock a lot of innovation and maybe even prompt regulators to acknowledge the potential of Bitcoin, making it all the more difficult for them to shut it down or suppress it. As one can see from the current Bitcoin ecosystem map (http://bit.ly/1krEd0Z) that there are almost no start-ups, which solely use the protocol without using the ‘coin’ or the ‘currency’ as a function. 2014 will be the first year to see some of these.

Many of the predictions can be debated this way or that, but this calls into question the knowledge of the original author.  Firstly, "meta data" is data about data, so the only meta data would be about the blockchain itself.  What they mean is including data in the blackchain.  Why would this be a good idea?  There's already been data put in the block chain for giggles or malicious reasons (porn for example).  Filling up the blockchain with data would be a bad thing for scalability.  Maybe im not thinking wide enough, but the reason there is no startups using the protocol without the coin is there's no other purpose.  Use other, similar technologies directly, i.e. encryption, torrents (for p2p).  Namecoin shows that people have thought about other applications and not really come up with anything.

[SirBitsalot]

Both miners are scams. This article is shit. Ignorant.

Could you provide some proof?

[smoothrunnings]

I think this year we need to see exchanges taking a more responsibility role with its clients trades and making sure the transaction between the buyer and the seller goes smoothly. Currently this doesn't happen so when people get ripped off by exchanges they simply stop believing bitcoin can really be something and rid themselves of it all together, these same people may also tell their other investment friends and family members to avoid bitcoin like the plague.

It sounds like the bitcoin exchanges (across the board) look at bitcoin as a hobby and don't take it serious enough.

[SirBitsalot]

Great list.  I hope you're right.

Another big question--will we see the elimination of the 51% threat?

I think that will always exist unless they put a 50.99% cap on Bitcoins so you can't ever hit 51%