Bitcoin usage by businesses in 2017

Rage Review : In 2017, the price of Bitcoin increased by 1,300% throughout the year. The increase was small in the first quarter, and it began to increase more than tenfold in the second quarter. At the same time, the average quarterly increase in the number of physical enterprises using Bitcoin for payment was 5.44% in the year. The number of physical enterprises that began to accept Bitcoin in the third quarter increased more than before, which means that market demand has increased, and it will continue to increase at a higher rate in the fourth quarter. The decline in cryptocurrency prices at the end of the year is related to laymen's lack of understanding of the overall risk and volatility range. From the perspective of the Pearson correlation coefficient, the price of the currency is related to the rate of corporate use. With the participation of large institutional investors and the improvement of retail investors' knowledge, 2018 will usher in a cryptocurrency bull market.

Translation: Annie_Xu

2017 was an important year for Bitcoin. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) launched the first Bitcoin futures market, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) applied for two Bitcoin ETFs, and the price of Bitcoin increased by 1,300%. In 2017, the scale of Bitcoin has become significant. As the value of Bitcoin increases, the number of physical companies accepting Bitcoin around the world has increased significantly. Let's take a look at the relevant data.

Q1/17: Slight increase of 5.5%

According to Coinmap.org, on January 3, 2017, 8,207 brick-and-mortar businesses accepted Bitcoin as payment for goods and services. In the last three days of the first quarter, on March 28, 2017, 8,665 businesses accepted Bitcoin. The number of businesses accepting Bitcoin increased by 5.58% in the first three months of 2017.

Bitcoin price data: Slight increase of 7%

On the first day of the year, January 1, 2017, the price of Bitcoin was $979.5, 13 times lower than the current price of $13,390. On March 31, the last day of the first quarter, the price of Bitcoin was $1,045.03, a 6.9% increase in the first quarter.

Q2/17: The number of companies using the technology has increased steadily by 5%.

On April 4, 2017, 8,682 businesses accepted Bitcoin. On June 27, 2017, the last three days of the second quarter, 9,143 businesses accepted Bitcoin, an increase of 461 businesses accepting Bitcoin, a 5.3% increase in the number of businesses accepting Bitcoin since the spring of that year.

Bitcoin price data: strong rise of 135%

On April 1, 2017, the price of Bitcoin was $1,069.78, and on the last day of the quarter, the price was $2,519.27. The price of Bitcoin increased by $1,449.49, which is equivalent to a price increase of 135%.

In the first half of 2017, the price of Bitcoin increased by 147%, and the number of companies accepting Bitcoin increased by 11%.

Combined, the first and second quarter data represent the first six months of 2017, during which the number of businesses accepting Bitcoin increased by 11.4%. 936 brick-and-mortar businesses accept Bitcoin as a means of payment for goods and services. The average quarterly increase in the number of brick-and-mortar businesses accepting Bitcoin is 5.44%. From the first day of the first quarter to the last day of the second quarter, the price of Bitcoin increased by $1,501.1, an increase of 147.43%.

Q3/17: Cryptocurrency craze begins, 8.5% increase

On July 4, 2017, 9,176 businesses accepted Bitcoin, and on September 26, 2017, the number increased to 9,972. The number of physical businesses that accepted Bitcoin as a payment method increased by 796, an increase of 8.67%.

Bitcoin price data: Another strong rise of 74%

On the first day of the third quarter, July 1, the price of Bitcoin was $2,458.14, and reached $4,286.64 at the end of September. From July 1 to September 30, 2017, the price of Bitcoin increased by $1,828.5, equivalent to a 74.38% increase.

Bitcoin rises and heats up

In the third quarter we began to see a larger increase in the price of Bitcoin and the number of businesses accepting Bitcoin than in previous quarters. Higher prices mean higher demand, and the events of the third quarter of the year made it reasonable to expect higher demand in the Bitcoin market. The media began to report on the amazing gains investors were making from digital currency investments, and global media began to cover Bitcoin; for the first time, Bitcoin was portrayed in a positive light, compared to its previous association with money laundering and illegal drug trafficking. In addition, Bitcoin reached a new all-time high, and the news spread like wildfire, which may have influenced a large number of people who thought they had missed out on huge returns from Bitcoin to decide not to miss out on the rich returns of related investments.

Q4: More and more companies accept Bitcoin, 12%

On October 3, 2017, three days before the fourth quarter, 10,040 brick-and-mortar businesses accepted Bitcoin. On December 19, 2017, 11,291 brick-and-mortar businesses accepted Bitcoin. This represents a 12.4% increase since the start of the quarter.

Bitcoin price data: roller coaster ride, 224%

The fourth quarter saw the largest increase in the number of businesses that added Bitcoin payment support, with an increase of 1,251 physical businesses. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the price of Bitcoin was $4,317.24. Around December 17, the price of Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $20,000, but in the last few days of the month, the cryptocurrency market encountered a price correction, and Bitcoin fell to $14,000. However, at the end of the quarter, the price of Bitcoin increased by 224.35% to 9,685.7900.

Second half of 2017: The number of companies that are friendly to Bitcoin almost doubled compared to the first half of the year

In the second half of 2017, the number of businesses accepting Bitcoin payments increased by 2,115, a 23% increase from July 4 to December 19.

The number of businesses accepting Bitcoin increased by approximately 10.57% each quarter, almost double the quarterly growth rate in the first six months.

Price data: Bitcoin is a record-breaking currency

On January 1, 2017, the price of Bitcoin was $979.53. By the end of December, the price of Bitcoin was around $14,000. From the beginning of the first quarter to the last day of the fourth quarter, the price increased by approximately 1,329%, and the overall price increased by $13,000.

Cryptocurrency mania and Bitcoin use

The recent decline in Bitcoin prices may be due to retail investors who are not familiar with the cryptocurrency market not understanding that the beta systemic risk of cryptocurrencies is greater than that of the NYSE or Nasdaq. As Bitcoin prices fell sharply, the market began to shake out soft-handed participants, and many unfamiliar retail investors chose to sell cryptocurrencies out of panic.

Those who previously hoarded cryptocurrencies obviously know that there is nothing to be afraid of, and there is no need to sell when the price drops sharply, because those who are familiar with the cryptocurrency community know that the price of Bitcoin is like the best roller coaster in the theme park. The rise is amazing, making you feel like you are leaving the atmosphere, but the fall is scary, making you think that the roller coaster will fall straight down, through the center of the earth to the abyss, causing concern and stimulating adrenaline levels.

Data shows that the price of Bitcoin is related to the number of companies that accept Bitcoin payments, with a Pearson Correlation coefficient of 0.7994. In other words, as long as the price of Bitcoin rises, the number of companies that accept Bitcoin is likely to increase.

The best part is that the Bitcoin mania has just begun. We’ll call it “crypto mania,” but it could end any day soon.

Despite the surge in interest in digital tokens, the total market capitalization of all digital assets is $560,456,007,471, which is far lower than the NYSE’s market cap of $19.6 trillion.

2017 was an important year for Bitcoin, with few assets posting returns of more than 1,300%, an increase of 3,084 businesses accepting Bitcoin, and an overall gain of $13,023.53 for Bitcoin.

In 2017, we began to see institutional investors offering digital asset investment options on their client platforms, but the support of large institutional investors has not yet become a market factor. Institutional investors, those Wall Street wealth giants, wanted to participate in the Bitcoin game in the first quarter of 2018, applying for a number of Bitcoin ETFs, and retail investors and laymen also began to learn about digital currencies and began to hope to add digital assets to their portfolios.

It is worth looking forward to how blockchain technology, especially Bitcoin, will develop. What will Bitcoin, the first blockchain technology, bring in 2018? However, as Bitcoin has become the talk of local news channels, supermarkets, barber shops and classrooms, it is safe to say that we have entered a bull market.