Global investment in Bitcoin-related businesses is exploding. The BI Intelligence chart above gives a sense of just how fast money is being pumped into these Bitcoin-based startups.
- Based on the run rate through June, investment in Bitcoin businesses is on track to reach $250 million this year, BI Intelligence estimates. That's 150% growth over the $99.5 million that was invested in 2013.
- At that run rate, investment in Bitcoin-related businesses could grow over 12,000% from the $2 million that was invested in 2012.
Here are two comparisons to put these numbers in context:
- Payments startup funding. $492 million was invested in payments startups during the first quarter of 2014. During the same period, $64 million of that total was invested in Bitcoin startups, according to CoinDesk. That means investment in Bitcoin startups accounted for 13% of investment in payments startups.
- Early internet. Advocates of the digital currency have often compared its disruptive potential to the internet. And they've made the argument that investment in these companies is akin to early investment in internet companies in the mid-90s. Going by that comparison, Coin Desknotes that the run rate of investment in Bitcoin businesses has reached the level of early stage investments in U.S. internet startups in 1995, not adjusted for inflation.
BI Intelligence is a subscription tech research service from Business Insider. For full access to all our charts, analysis and reporting on the latest trends disrupting the payments industry, sign up for a free trial.
SEE ALSO: These Are The Five Main Reasons Bitcoin Is Beginning To Flourish As A Payment Technology