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Where Boston Stands on Blockchain
The city of Boston has been a key player in the cryptocurrency industry, despite recent setbacks, but isn't exactly loyal to Bitcoin.
Since 2017, Boston has been a key city in the development of the cryptocurrency industry. Boston-based startups such as Circle and Alt-Option have developed tools and platforms which popularize and make trading cryptocurrencies accessible to those with less blockchain knowledge.
However, the cryptocurrency industry in Boston is not without struggle. In May of this year, Boston-based cryptocurrency exchange Circle laid off around 30 people, or nearly 10 percent of its total staff. The firm cited increasing fintech market regulations as serious impediments to their growth --and again, in July, Circle saw two of its traders leave for other firms. Just last fall, Boston startup Airfox was fined $350,000 and forced to pay damages to buyers after a sale of $15 million worth of digital tokens was ruled to be an illegal sale of securities.
So, where does cryptocurrency in Boston stand?
Find out what's happening in Bostonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
As far as the city’s industry is concerned, Boston remains a hotbed for blockchain growth and product development. For example, there are currency 41 jobs listed among 12 Blockchain startups in the Boston area.
However, Bostonians seem to have soured on the world’s most popular cryptocurrency: Bitcoin.
Find out what's happening in Bostonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In the 10 years since the first Bitcoin transaction, over 1,600 cryptocurrencies have been released onto the market. Some of the most popular non-Bitcoin currencies include Litecoin and Ethereum.
In fact, although Bitcoin dominates the cryptocurrency market as a whole, the most popular cryptocurrency in Boston is actually Ethereum Classic, according to a recent study conducted by Jira Align, an agile work solutions company. This is consistent with other major U.S. cities such as Philadelphia, PA and Charlotte, NC.
What Boston’s fixation on Ethereum Classic means for the city’s industry is unclear. As a whole, Ethereum has a market cap of over $29 billion compared to Bitcoin’s over $207 billion. Given Ethereum’s popularity in major U.S. cities, perhaps we will see smaller cryptocurrencies continue to catch up to the industry giant known as Bitcoin.
Based on these factors, it seems that the age of cryptocurrencies in Boston and in the country as a whole is far from over. With 8% of Americans invested in the financial technology, many have a vested interest in seeing the industry continue to thrive.
