The tide is turning for Bitcoin

Bitcoin was off to a rough start in 2014. The once biggest Bitcoin exchange, Mt.Gox, finally collapsed in February after struggling for months. Even worse, Bitcoin had to face adverse scenarios in multiple countries, as central banks and governments clamped down on the digital currency. This included the People’s Bank of China restricting third party payment processors from working with exchanges, and the Internal Revenue Service declaring Bitcoin a property instead of a currency. The latter transforms using Bitcoin into a complicated bookkeeping game. And it could still get worse. Just last week, Bitcoin’s ultimate doomsday scenario of a 51 percent attack showed its ugly face again when GHash.io briefly touched the feared mark. But the news has not been all that bad recently, as recent weeks featured many positive headlines as well.

More positive headlines

For a start, Dish Network started accepting Bitcoin payments. With 14 million users, it instantly became the largest company to accept Bitcoin, Expedia, one of the world’s largest travel agents, soon followed. Digital River, a company that processed $30 billion in online transactions last year, was one of the latest companies to partner with Bitcoin merchant processor Coinbase. Apple did not fully endorse Bitcoin yet, but its most recent addition to its developer guidelines could be seen as a step in that direction. The concerned guideline states: “Apps may facilitate transmission of approved virtual currencies provided that they do so in compliance with all state and federal laws for the territories in which the app functions.”  

Facebook also officially approved two cryptocurrency tipping apps, the Doge Tipping App and the Multicoin Tipping App, and reveals a more friendly stance towards cryptocurrencies. Last but not least, the Winklevoss’ Bitcoin price index (or WinkDex) has made its debut on Bloomberg. Users can now track prices and relevant news, although trading Bitcoin is not available yet. The WinkDex can be seen as a component of the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Winklevoss twins are still awaiting regulatory approval for this, but it should be clear that Bitcoin is also slowly moving towards Wall Street. Alltogether, despite several hiccups, the tide definitely seems to be turning for the digital currency.

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