Bitcoin: A Hype or Reality: Market Research Report

January 2014 | 107 pages | ID: B76D17E872CEN
Global Industry Analysts, Inc

Abstracts

This report analyzes the global market for Bitcoin in terms of Cumulative Number of Bitcoins in Circulation in Thousands. Annual estimates and forecasts are provided for the period 2010 through 2018. Market data and analytics are derived from primary and secondary research. Company profiles are primarily based on public domain information including company URLs. The report profiles 53 companies including many key and niche players such as -

• CoinTerra
• Butterfly Labs Inc.
• KnCMiner AB
• Robocoin Technologies LLC
• Cloud Hashing

Contents

I.INTRODUCTION, METHODOLOGY & PRODUCT DEFINITIONS

Study Reliability and Reporting Limitations
Disclaimers
Data Interpretation & Reporting Level
Quantitative Techniques & Analytics
Product Definitions and Scope of Study

II. MARKET BUZZ

1.CURRENT EVENTS & INSIGHTS

Evolution of Bitcoin & the Pros & Cons of its Primary Tenets & Principles
The 2007-2009 Recession Marks the Emergence of the Bitcoin System
Bitcoin as a True Full Reserve Banking Alternative to Fractional Reserve Banking System
Bitcoin As An Energy Based Money System
Bitcoin’s Liquidity Characteristics & Its Ability to Challenge Fiat Currency
The Rise & Fall of Bitcoin: An Introductory Prelude
The Rise to Fame…
The Epic Fall From Grace…

Table 1. Value of Bitcoin: Monthly Breakdown of Average Value of Bitcoin in US Dollars October 2013 through May 2014 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

A Review of Recent Events Which Culminated in the Current Decline in the Global Bitcoin Economy
Growing Popularity Triggers Bitcoin Backlash From Governments Worldwide.
“Felled by Regulation”: China Delivers Bitcoin Its Deathblow
A Review of Hard-Line Regulatory Approach Adopted by the US Government
New York Financial Regulator Moves Forward with Tight Bitcoin Regulations
Latest IRS Regulations Complicate Bitcoin Usage
Russian Authorities Warn Against the Use of Bitcoins
Loopholes in Bitcoin Trading Technology Weakens the Bitcoin Ecosystem
Distributed Denial-of-Service Attacks: A Key Technical Challenge Faced by Bitcoin Exchanges
Failure of M.T Gox Wields a Mortal Wound to the Bitcoin Currency System
Increase in Bitcoin Theft & Hacking Undermines Public Trust
Rising Difficulty in Mining Bitcoins Makes Mining Operations Unviable
High Regulatory Uncertainty & Risk to Stifle Venture Capital Investments in Bitcoin

Table 2. Select VC Investments in Bitcoin: 2014 (January - March) (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

Table 3. World Bitcoin Market (2014): Percentage Share Breakdown of VC Investments by Region - Asia, Europe and North America (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

Table 4. World Bitcoin Market (2014): Percentage Share Breakdown of VC Investments by Sector - Exchange, Financial Services, Mining Hardware, Payment Processor, Universal and Wallet (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

Euphoria Driven Asset Bubble Damages Bitcoin’s Potential as a Future Currency
Pessimism Pervades Bitcoin’s Future

2.GENERAL MARKET TRENDS & DISCUSSIONS

Bitcoin Eco-System Heads Towards Consolidation
Universal Bitcoin Business Model Gains in Prominence
Bitcoin as a Payment Network: A Peek Into Its True Potential
E-Commerce Popularity Benefits the Use of Bitcoin as a Means of Payment
Will Bitcoin Replace Credit Cards?
Bitcoin as an Alternative for Making Micropayments
Growing Use of Bitcoin for International Funds Transfer
The Advent of Colored Coins Adds to Bitcoin Popularity
Bitcoin Mining Hardware & Cloud Based Bitcoin Mining Grow in Popularity
Understanding Bitcoin’s Concept of Anonymity is the Key to Wider Adoption
Bitcoin Exchanges Witness a Short Lived Resurgence Post Chinese Crackdown
Complexity of Bitcoin Mining Drives Popularity of Pooled Mining

Table 5. Bitcoin Mining Worldwide: Percentage Share Breakdown of Bitcoin Mining Pools As Measured by Hashrate Distribution As Recorded on March 2014 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

US Businesses Help Bitcoin Make a Price Comeback Post Chinese Crackdown
Weak Banking Systems & High Mobile Penetration Favor Bitcoin Proliferation in Africa
Institutional Adoption of Bitcoin Still Slow
The First Bitcoin ATMs Make Their Way Into the Market
PayPal Mulls the Possibility of Extending Support to Bitcoin
Online User Friendly Wallets
Escrow Service for Large Transactions
Merchant Acceptability
Key Statistical Findings

Table 6. Bitcoin Penetration in Select Countries Worldwide Measured by the Number of Bitcoin Software Client Downloads Presented As a Percentage (%) of Total Population for the Year 2013 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

Table 7. Volume of Bitcoin Software Client Downloads for Top 5 Countries for the Month of December 2013 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

Table 8. Volume of Bitcoin Software Client Downloads by Select Country for 2013 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

Table 9. Global Bitcoin Market (2013): Percentage Share Breakdown of Bitcoin Software Client Downloads by Operating System (OS) in Select Countries (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

Table 10. Leading Bitcoin Exchanges Worldwide: Percentage Share Breakdown by Bitcoin Trading Transaction Volumes as of April 2014 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

Table 11. Number of Bitcoin Transactions (In Thousand) for Years 2010-2014 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

Table 12. Bitcoin Transaction Fees (In US$) for 2012, 2013 & Q1-2014 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

Table 13. Bitcoin Total Output Volume (In Thousand BTC) for 2012, 2013 & Q1-2014 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

3.A RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW OF THE BITCOIN MARKET DURING ITS BOOM PERIOD (2010-2013)

Global Market Instability During 2009-2013 Fuels Initial Interest in Bitcoin
Eurozone Crisis Jumpstarts Pan European Interest in Bitcoin
Argentina: One of the Early Adopters of Bitcoin
Partial Government Shutdown in the United States in 2013 Triggers a Quite Boom in Bitcoin Value
China Triggers the Mother of all Bubbles
Bitcoin Value Spirals to US$500 & Above in Mid-2013 Spurring Venture Capital Investments
Top 5 Venture Capital Investments in 2013:
Busting of the Silk Road Drug Market Drives Down Value of Bitcoin in October 2013

4.BITCOIN: CONCEPTUAL OVERVIEW

Bitcoin: An Introduction
History
Regulatory Environment
Key Benefits Driving Adoption of Bitcoin
Pseudo-Anonymity & Privacy
Immune to Monetary Inflation
Impervious to Manipulation
Irreversible Transactions
Portability
Low Cost
Divisibility
Economic Independence
Key Challenges to Adoption of Bitcoin
Bitcoin Anonymity & Unregulated Attributes
Lack of Accountability
Impairs National Development
Hoarding & Speculative Trading
Inequitable Distribution of Wealth
Extreme Volatility
Merchant Acceptability
Irreversible
Security Breach
Difficult to Coordinate
Negative Foundation
Vulnerable to Malicious Manipulation
The Promising Future of Cryptocurrency Spurs Competitive Alternatives to Bitcoin
Litecoin (LTC)
PPCoin (PPC)
Freicoin (FRC)
MintChip
Feathercoin
Ripple
“Bitcoin Bridge' to Ripple: A Threat or an Opportunity?

5.RECENT INDUSTRY ACTIVITY

WPCS Concludes Agreement on Divesting its Seattle Operations
Microelectronics Technology Corporation Buys Bitcoin Miner Company
LeoGroup Uses Bitcoin to Buy Stradivarius Violin
BitPay Inaugurates its Amsterdam based European Headquarters
Bitcoin ATM Introduced in New Zealand
Overstock.com Begins Accepting Bitcoin Payments
RMBTB Shuts Down Trading Operations
TerraHash Declares Insolvency

6.PRODUCT LAUNCHES

Ciphrex Unveils Bitcoin Wallet
CoinTerra™ Unveils GSX I™ Bitcoin Mining Card
CoinTerra Introduces Hosting Partnership
CoinTerra Unveils Announces Aggressive Pricing on Bitcoin ASIC Mining Systems
CoinTerra Unveils TerraMiner IV Bitcoin Mining Rigs

7.PLAYERS IN THE BITCOIN ECOSYSTEM

Bitcoin Mining Equipment Manufacturers
CoinTerra (USA)
Butterfly Labs Inc. (USA)
KnCMiner AB (Sweden)
Robocoin Technologies LLC (USA)
Bitcoin Mining Contractors/Services Providers
Cloud Hashing (UK)
E-pickaxe (Argentina)
BitcoinFrenzy (USA)
Byteminr Limited (UK)
Bitcoin Exchanges
ANXBTC (China)
Bitcoincentral (France)
Bitcoinde
Bitcurex (Poland)
Bit2C (Israel)
BTC Markets (Australia)
Bitfinex
BTCChina (China)
Bitstamp Ltd. (UK)
BTC-e (USA)
Campbx (USA)
Digital Future LLC (Poland)
Huobi.com (China)
Justcoin Exchange (Norway)
Kraken (US)
MercadoBitcoin (Brazil)
VirtEx (Canada)
Bitcoin Based Companies (Includes Bitcoin Trading Platforms, and Payment Processing Companies, Among Others)
BitPay, Inc. (USA)
Coinbase (USA)
Gliph, Inc. (USA)
Coinsetter Inc. (USA)
TruCoin Technologies LLC (USA)
BTCJam (Brazil)

8.GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE

Table 14. World Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis for Bitcoin Analyzed by Cumulative Number of Bitcoins in Circulation in Thousands for Years 2010 through 2018 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

III. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Total Companies Profiled: 53 (including Divisions/Subsidiaries - 53)
The United States (18)
Canada (2)
Europe (17)
  France (1)
  Germany (1)
  The United Kingdom (6)
  Rest of Europe (9)
Asia-Pacific (Excluding Japan) (10)
Latin America (4)
Africa (1)
Middle East (1)