Bitcoin regains its vitality, and trading applications develop in depth

     After a long decline in 2014, Bitcoin returned to the upward channel in 2015. As of press time, the price of Bitcoin once hit 2,300 yuan, an increase of nearly 150% from the low point at the beginning of the year and a trend of accelerating growth.

     Bitcoin became well-known to the public because of its skyrocketing price in 2013. This virtual encrypted digital currency popular in the geek circle went from being worthless at the beginning to being worth hundreds of yuan each in early 2013, which is a microcosm of its surge in supporters around the world. However, this was just the beginning. From the beginning of 2013 to the end of the year, the price of Bitcoin rose from less than 100 yuan to a maximum of about 8,000 yuan. Not only investors and followers involved in it, but also various media from CCTV to tabloids were crazy about it. Bitcoin was designed to be a virtual digital currency without an issuer, generated by a large number of calculations through a specific computer program, and encrypted and circulated through a P2P network based on open source software, with an upper limit of 21 million. At that time, the concept of Bitcoin as a "scarce currency" was hyped.

     However, at the end of 2013, when the price of Bitcoin was booming, the People's Bank of China, together with five ministries including the China Securities Regulatory Commission, issued the "Notice on Preventing Bitcoin Risks", which denied the currency attribute of Bitcoin and clarified the nature of Bitcoin as "a specific virtual commodity" and required third-party payment platforms not to provide payment channels for Bitcoin exchanges. After that, the price of Bitcoin plummeted, and Bitcoin continued to fall throughout 2014, with a drop of more than 50%, and was rated as the "worst investment" in 2014.

     In contrast to the low price of Bitcoin, the application of Bitcoin continues to develop. In 2013, when Bitcoin was hot, a number of Bitcoin-related industry applications represented by exchanges were born. In 2014, when Bitcoin prices were low, Bitcoin futures were undoubtedly the focus of the industry. Although critics pointed out that the weakness of Bitcoin prices was caused by the development of Bitcoin futures, and the initiator 796 Exchange was even more criticized, the recent sharp rise in Bitcoin prices and Bitcoin futures trading volume showed that this accusation was groundless. The fact is that the development of Bitcoin futures has led Bitcoin out of the low point in 2014, and the development of new derivatives represented by Bitcoin CFDs in 2015 will push Bitcoin to challenge the traditional financial system in depth. Stocks, indices, foreign exchange, commodities, and traditional financial products can all be priced, traded and settled in Bitcoin, a global "currency", which will give Bitcoin unlimited development prospects.

     Bitcoin has become popular again after a year of silence. Whether it is a flash in the pan, a last gasp, or the opening of a new historical curtain, let us wait and see.