 | | | | | | Dear HODLers, lambo owners, and all those that hate FUD, I've really enjoyed curating Inside Bitcoin news for you this year despite the sometimes (ok, mostly) negative news about prices. As we head into 2019, I pulled together my 25 favorite stories of the year, and I have two questions: - What do you think was the most under-covered story or trend in cryptocurrencies this year?
- How can we make this newsletter even more valuable to you in 2019?
Just hit reply and let me know what you think! Here is to a more profitable 2019,
David |     | | 1. The price of top cryptocurrencies dropped throughout the year. Bitcoin led the nearly yearlong plunge as it lost more than 80 percent of its value from the end of 2017. The question now for investors is will 2018 be nearly part of the larger growth of cryptocurrencies (the market has seen three major crashes in the past eight years, only to come back stronger) or the beginning of the end? 2. While bitcoin led the fall, altcoins took the brunt of the damage. The price of altcoins tended to mirror that of bitcoin, they did not recover at the same rate following larger price falls. As a result, bitcoin's market dominance grew stronger throughout the year. –CRYPTOVEST 3. A civil war split the bitcoin cash community in half, culminating in a hard fork in November. Bitcoin cash developers argued over the future of the coin, some feeling that it had begun to veer too far from its original goal of mirroring the vision laid out by Satoshi Nakamoto. As a result, Bitcoin Cash SV broke away from the original Bitcoin Cash blockchain (now known as Bitcoin Cash ABC). –MARKET WATCH 4. The bitcoin cash hardfork coincided with a substantial drop in cryptocurrency prices. In the month before the split, bitcoin enjoyed rare stability. Experts believe the hard fork, though, triggered fear in short term investors who believed the split muddied the future of cryptocurrencies. As a result, investors largely pulled out of the market and bitcoin, and other major altcoins, saw a nearly 50 percent loss in value in less than a month. –COINDESK 5. While Litecoin founder Charlie Lee sold his stake in litecoin at the end of 2017, the story continued into this year. Lee's decision came as litecoin traded at more than $375 a coin. With prices now less than one-tenth of that, there are continued questions as to Lee's motives at the time and the larger impact it has had at the coin's overall direction. –CNBC | | | | Meet the Owl featured in This Week in Startups 2018 Year in Review No one has time for awful meetings! The Meeting Owl is a game changer and we use it all the time at Inside. Their smart 360° conferencing camera is seamless and the autofocus feature is LEGIT. If you have a remote team, you need to try a Meeting Owl. Use the 30-day return policy but we don't think you'll need it. Use code INSIDE to get $100 off Meeting Owl Pro Kit. 
| | | | 6. Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro announced the Petro, a national cryptocurrency, in February. The coin is supposedly tied to Venezuela's oil and mineral deposits. However, because of Venezuela's ongoing financial crisis and a general distrust of the government among the country's citizens, there is little confidence in the petro's viability. It first went on sale in November. –COIN TELEGRAPH 7. The Square Cash app launched bitcoin trading in January. The application, which has since surpassed Coinbase as the most popular iOS app for crypto trading, offered another avenue for interested parties to invest in bitcoin. It is also seen as a major step forward to bitcoin's larger mainstream adoption. –CNBC 8. Coinbase updated its listing process for new coins. The new system allows for the operators of different assets to become listed on Coinbase if they follow a set of mandates. The new listing process has been expected to greatly increase the number of coins that can be purchased on the Coinbase platform. –COIN TELEGRAPH 9. Comedian John Oliver profiled cryptocurrencies on his popular "Last Week Tonight" show on HBO. Oliver poked fun at some of the culture of crytpocurrencies – like Long Island Iced Tea changing from a drink company to a blockchain firm – but also declared the future of cryptos is still yet to be decided. –TECH CRUNCH 10. CNBC aired a documentary on bitcoin in August. The piece, titled "Bitcoin: Boom or Bust" highlighted those that had made it big investing in cryptocurrencies, while highlighting what some find so intriguing about the cryptocurrency movement. However, the documentary did face criticism for showing only the speculative nature around cryptocurrency and was not a completely accurate representation of the community. –CNBC 11. Overstock.com plans to transfer completely to a blockchain company. The online retailer, which was one of the first sellers to accept bitcoin, has tied its future to Medici Ventures, its blockchain investment arm. Medici currently has 19 companies in its portfolio. –CCN 12. Kodak appeared to return from the dead with the announcement of its own cryptocurrency, KodakCoin, in January. News of the project sent Kodak's stock soaring and reminded investors of the once prominent photography company. It would end up being short lived. A few months later, KodakCoin was exposed as a product that simply licensed the Kodak name and failed to deliver on promises to early investors, never getting off the ground. –THE WASHINGTON POST 13. Scammers took control of the Twitter accounts of a number of high profile brands to promote a cryptocurrency scam. The fraudsters hacked accounts such as Target and Google in an effort to give legitimacy to their scheme. The accounts pledged the chance to win a large sum of cryptocurrency in exchange for sending a small entry fee. –USA TODAY 14. Famed investor Warren Buffett called bitcoin "rat poison squared" as the Oracle of Omaha continued to be critical of cryptocurrency. Buffett explained that bitcoin will never amount of anything of real value, primarily because he struggles to find a practical use for it. Buffett is not alone among traditional investors who largely continued to be critical of the cryptocurrency market in 2018. –CNN 15. Mt. Gox victims will finally see repayment. Those that saw their bitcoin stolen during the famed 2014 theft can apply for repayment early following elongated court proceedings that drug into 2018. This is good news for those that believed they would never see their stolen funds returned. –COINDESK | | | | 16. Dogecoin continued its path to legitimacy. Started as a joke, the meme-inspired coin now has the 20th largest market cap of all cryptocurrencies. Dogecoin has gained traction because of its simplicity. It is easy to acquire and easy to use, making it the perfect coin for newbies looking to get involved in cryptocurrency. –CAPTAIN ALTCOIN 17. Coinbase was valued at more than $8 billion. The exchange closed a $300 million round of funding that pushed its valuation to become one of the most valuable privately owned companies in the country. Coinbase plans to use the funding, which closed in October, to expand its portfolio to cater to more institutional investors and to offer more products. –TECH CRUNCH 18. A study released in June claimed that Tether was used to manipulate the price of bitcoin during its historic run in 2017. The report prompted a Justice Department investigation later in the year. The study showed that Tether was used to both stabilize and manipulate bitcoin prices during pivotal points of the year. –BLOOMBERG 19. Facebook has continued to work on a mysterious cryptocurrency project. The company has created a small blockchain team and recently announced a number of open positions for the squad. There is little detail now to as what the social giant's ultimate goal, but because of Facebook's size it will be a major story to watch heading into 2019. –NEWS BTC 20. Bitcoin miners showed they would go wherever cheap power exists. With crypto prices dropping, miners continued to look for the best deal – no matter where it came from. For some, that was moving to Washington State or Wyoming. For others, it meant Quebec and upstate New York. Some even got really creative, using ice water from fjords in Norway to set up shop to using cheap electricity in Iran. –COINDESK 21. The Intercontinental Exchange announced the coming launch of Bakkt. The platform, which is expected to go live early next year, will be an ecosystem for digital assets. It will include a physical bitcoin futures contract and warehouse. More notable, though, is some of the companies behind the project: Microsoft, Starbucks, BCG and others make it a project worth watching. –BUSINESS WIRE 22. Elon Musk has become a favorite of online scammers. Twitter accounts pretending to be the Tesla creator were rampant throughout the year. Musk himself even acknowledged the level of specificity the account holders were willing to go to try their scam. –FORTUNE 23. Ah, the good old days. It is worth remembering that on January 7, bitcoin traded at $17,144.85 per coin. That marked the high price for 2018. By the end of January, the coin was threatening to drop below $10,000. It has been a fast and hard fall from the all-time record. –INFO MEDIANG 24. IBM and Alibaba have battled to secure the most blockchain patents. The two technology companies have taken the global lead in blockchain innovation, both securing more than 90 patents. Microsoft has also been aggressive with more than 80 patents. No matter how these big companies may see cryptocurrency, there is a growing business case for blockchain-related products. –COINDESK 25. Ethereum developers continued work on the Constantinople upgrade. When completed in January, the upgrade is expected to increase the capacity and speed of the network. It has been a long road to this point, but the upgrade will usher in a new era for the cryptocurrency. –COIN TELEGRAPH | | | | 
Owl Labs is the creator of the Meeting Owl, the first 360-degree smart conference camera. Learn more. | | | | | |
