Silicon Valley has gained its popularity for being the home of several tech and online startups, which later on grew to become the fast-rising companies of today. According to Bitpay Chief Commercial Officer Sonny Singh, the trend among venture capitalist groups in the valley is to invest in bitcoin and related technologies like the blockchain.
“You can see the rapid growth of the VC investments in the bitcoin space,” explained Singh. He mentioned that investments in bitcoin companies has grown thrice this year compared to last year.
Growth in Bitcoin Companies
“Two years ago, bitcoin wouldn’t have been on that,” said Singh. “It shows how much of a traction bitcoin has gotten in just over the last two years. It’s really come a long way and I imagine in the next two years, it will be much higher actually.”
Singh also pointed out that around a year ago, they had been convincing large companies to accept bitcoin. This time around, these same companies such as Dell and Microsoft are explaining to their customers why bitcoin is important. “We’ve seen the ecosystem change quite dramatically,” concluded Singh.
Data from industry analysts has also revealed that bitcoin is taking over financial services and digital fund transfers, such as the money remittance services of Western Union and Xoom. Coindesk and PwC reported that bitcoin investments in 2015 have totaled US$916 million so far, a 262.5% increase compared to last year.
Even established tech companies such as Dell have been reaping the rewards of using bitcoin, as the company reported a positive growth of bitcoin sales over the last year. Online retail giants like TigerDirect has also seen positive consumer feedback and growth in bitcoin sales over the last 18 months.
Moreover, the space continues to show more growth potential, with companies now focusing on theapplications of blockchain technology in various aspects of their operations.
Source : http://www.newsbtc.com/2015/08/31/is-silicon-valley-turning-into-a-bitcoin-hub/
