Year in Review: The Bitcoin Market in 2015

Some of tech’s most interesting developments in 2015 occurred in the bitcoin market. The digital currency saw increased interest from major banks and other financial institutions, and mainstream media finally began taking the digital currency seriously.
In an exclusive interview, Grayscale’s Michael Sonnenshein spoke with the Investing News Network about the biggest trends of 2015, and where he sees the bitcoin market going in 2016. In this first half of the interview, he looks back at the industry’s most pivotal developments this past year.

2015 bitcoin market: The good

This time last year, the bitcoin market was in a very different place. The digital currency occupied a peripheral position in relation to mainstream financial institutions, and was struggling to gain credibility. However, Barry Silbert, the creator of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:GBTC), had a clear view of the future. Silbert “predicted that 2015 would be the year that Wall Street, banks and institutional investors would begin to have an increased interest in bitcoin.”

According to Sonnenshein, “we can confidently say that this hypothesis came to fruition in 2015 with the likes of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), UBS (NYSE:UBS), Barclays (NYSE:BCS), Citi, Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and Wedbush all getting involved through investment in bitcoin or blockchain companies, developing accelerators and/or incubators for these types of firms, forming working groups to explore the digital currency space and looking at integrations, and/or publishing research.”

2015 bitcoin market: The challenges

That said, bitcoin did face challenges this year, with a key one being its reputation as a fringe cryptocurrency and unreliable investment. As Sonnenshein explained, “during early 2015, bitcoin’s brand and price continued to provide challenges. Most mainstream press earlier in the year was primarily focused on covering bad actors.”
However, he added, “as the lifecycle of the digital currency space continues to evolve, media attention has shifted towards the intersection of financial services firms and this emerging technology. As a result, media coverage has more recently done a far better job of demystifying and explaining the benefits of bitcoin.”

2016 bitcoin market: More progress?

As Sonnenshein’s comments illustrate, bitcoin saw many positive developments in 2015. In particular, from the continued success of the Bitcoin Investment Trust to banks’ increased interest in the currency, bitcoin made significant progress into the mainstream. Now, it remains to be seen what will happen to bitcoin in the new year.
Stay tuned for Sonnenshein’s exciting predictions.