Why it all went wrong in 2014 - but why 2015 can be better.

[jonald_fyookball]

I see no proof why bitcoin price should rise in 2015.
And I agree with jonald_fyookball.

there is no evidence for the rise in prices, and it is not possible to increase prices in 2015

It is of course, possible.  Just requires more demand...  More people hearing about it,
and deciding they want some.  That is happening all the time, but we don't know the
virality score.

[1715048320]

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[1715048320]

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[DooMAD]

Gox would have happened without alts, negative attention in the media would have happened without alts and lots of other bad things would have happened without alts.  It's far too simplistic to try to dismiss all the subtle nuances and subtle market movements in a statement as blunt as "it was the altcoins".  Unless you want innovative but untested features being trialled on the main bitcoin blockchain, you need alts to serve as a testbed.  

Cryptocurrency is all about innovation and you can't stifle that by saying alts are bad.  If someone wants to try out a radical new idea, they can make a new coin to test it and see if it works.  Then, if it turns out to be a complete disaster, Bitcoin remains unaffected.  This thread sounds like you want everyone to put all their money in bitcoin, so you can sell and make some fiat.  2015 will be a better year without people like that.  This isn't your personal get-rich-quick scheme.

[btcxyzzz]

Nothing went wrong in 2014. Price bubbles are by definition unsustainable. We're entering a period of stagnation before another (and last) astronomic rise. Bitcoin is just made that way. Patience.... It won't go under 250$, no way.

[ChuckBuck]

Depends on how you look at things.  2014 was worst than 2013 price wise, but adoption, infrastructure, and investment wise we're really moving in the right direction.

If you look at 2014 compared to the rest of Bitcoin's 5 year history, we're on a good trajectory overall.

But yes, to get the mainstream and wall street interested, we'll indeed need to price stabilize going upward if possible, as perception around the common man's circles are is "Bitcoin's dying a slow death".

Enter Winklevii COIN ETF ?

[dsly]

I think another reason where altcoins brought a drop in bitcoin was due to Ethereum. I think a massive amount of ICO funds were dumped after the presale, which was actually the reason for the drop from 600 to 500. It might actually have been somewhat a trigger.

[Nagle]

First of all, the only thing disastrous about 2014 was the price drop.  Good things happened in every other facet of Bitcoin.

Er, Mt. Gox? Forgotten about that disaster already?

[jonald_fyookball]

First of all, the only thing disastrous about 2014 was the price drop.  Good things happened in every other facet of Bitcoin.

Er, Mt. Gox? Forgotten about that disaster already?

oops...for some reason thought it was last year.

[adaseb]

I don't think it will improve. There needs to be more security in bitcoin and the block reward needs to be halved twice. Too many miners are withdrawing into FIAT>

[Remember remember the 5th of November]

2014 was simply the worst in my life, so not just Bitcoin. But yeah, I agree the year was pretty bad.

[ticoti]

bitcoin community is giving a high confidence to 2015 for bitcoin I hope we don't get dissapointed

[cryptworld]

yeah!

I think that the next year is going to be a really good year for bitcoin 

[StevenS]

We need more support for projects that put money into the bitcoin economy now, (Getting paid in bitcoin) more than we need projects that take money out (Buying products with bitcoin).

If you buy my product with Bitcoin, then I will assure you that the Bitcoin you spend will stay in the economy. (I.e. I promise I won't trade it for fiat on an exchange.)

[pablox43]

The future is unknown but slowly many people have started to realized all the benefits that Bitcoin brings to the table. For those who are here for the short term try to understand that drastic change takes time.

[redhawk979]

[CURRENT_YEAR + 1] will be the year of Bitcoin!

[myohmy81]

The worst news is MT.gox

[Nagle]

First of all, the only thing disastrous about 2014 was the price drop.  Good things happened in every other facet of Bitcoin.

Er, Mt. Gox? Forgotten about that disaster already?

oops...for some reason thought it was last year.

Other recent shutdowns:

Who	When	Why
__________________________________	____________	______________________________
Falcon Global Capital Bitcoin Fund	Dec. 9, 2014	Lack of interest
LocalBitcoins (Germany)	Dec. 9, 2014	In trouble with regulators
CoinJelly	Dec. 11, 2014	Reason unknown, users refunded.

That's just December. Many Bitcoin businesses shut down in 2014. None of those stole customer assets in a big way, so they didn't get as much press as Mt. Gox.

[bornil267645]

Sky rocketing price is the right thing?

Why does people always think it like that?

Why can't they just say bitcoin is stabilizing?

[BittBurger]

The pump and dump era is now over – and I hope it never reappears.

Over?   Ohh young grashopper.  Its not over.  Just look at Paycoin.

Pump and dumps haven't gone anywhere.   They've just had to adapt.  Its all about who can lie better and better.  Who can deceive more convincingly.

First it was the Government of Iceland on board with Auroracoin.  That had lots of people believing.

Now its Amazon, Walmart, and whoever - supposedly on board with Paycoin.

-B-

[Melbustus]

First of all, the only thing disastrous about 2014 was the price drop.  Good things happened in every other facet of Bitcoin.

Er, Mt. Gox? Forgotten about that disaster already?

oops...for some reason thought it was last year.

Other recent shutdowns:

Who	When	Why
__________________________________	____________	______________________________
Falcon Global Capital Bitcoin Fund	Dec. 9, 2014	Lack of interest
LocalBitcoins (Germany)	Dec. 9, 2014	In trouble with regulators
CoinJelly	Dec. 11, 2014	Reason unknown, users refunded.

That's just December. Many Bitcoin businesses shut down in 2014. None of those stole customer assets in a big way, so they didn't get as much press as Mt. Gox.

It must suck to go through life finding nothing but negativity in everything. But what should I expect from the proprietor of downside.com?

Anyways, here are some aggregate figures across 4 distinct sectors of the overall bitcoin ecosystem (instead of, say, three discrete cherry-picked singular examples):

2014 merchant count: Up 500%
2014 web-wallet count: Up 333%
2014 venture capital investment: Up 322%
2014 network hashrate: Up 3250%

Pantera's BitIndex boils down metrics like these into a single index: https://panteracapital.com/bitindex/ [see how the line goes up and to the right?]

[AgentofCoin]

Here is one theory as to why BTC had a price decline in 2014.

http://cointelegraph.com/news/113221/has-china-abandoned-bitcoin