Financial education outlet Investopedia named Bitcoin is 2017 term of the year, highlighting the extent to which cryptocurrency has become part of the mainstream financial conversation.
Bitcoin Named ‘Term of Year’ by Investopedia
Earlier this week, Investopedia released its annual list of the Top Financial Terms, as measured by search volume and percentage gains over the course of the year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, “bitcoin” cruised to the top spot on the list, beating out terms such as “artificial intelligence,” “Trumpcare,” “FAANG,” and even “millennials”.
While newsworthy, none of those other terms captured the imaginations of investors quite like bitcoin, an asset that entered the year near its all-time high and still managed to appreciate by approximately 1,600 percent during a yearlong rally that has been nothing short of meteoric.
“We have seen investing manias before, but the hype around bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and the blockchain have created unprecedented user interest on Investopedia, and across all media in 2017”, said Caleb Silver, editor in chief at Investopedia, in a media release.
As a testament to bitcoin’s ascent, regulated U.S. exchanges raced to list bitcoin futures contracts and are currently scrambling to bring the first bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (Bitcoin ETF) to market. Even central banks have begun exploring ways to use cryptocurrency-derived technology to issue state-backed currencies on a blockchain.
Blockchain & ICO Crack the Top Five
Notably, bitcoin was not the only cryptocurrency-related term to appear in the list. Blockchain ranked second, a product of the fact that many technical analysts believe this technology — first introduced by Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto — has the potential to disrupt a multitude of industries.
ICO, meanwhile, ranked fourth, which is fitting given that this nascent fundraising model helped blockchain startups net more than $4 billion in 2017.
“Investors clearly have disruptive technology on the mind this year. Search results for terms such as artificial intelligence, bitcoin and blockchain have dominated our traffic,” said David Siegel, CEO of Investopedia.
“While we don’t know yet how these trends will play out in 2018, what we do know is that investors are craving more information and insight on how to get involved with new offerings like bitcoin and how innovative technology is going to impact their investing, personal and professional lives,” Siegel concluded.