Where the panel landed
The year-end panel was not a normal issue debate so much as an awards ledger, with Thomas Hunt and Davi Barker sorting the year into winners, losers, companies, moments, and warnings. They agreed that Bitcoin itself was the year’s central winner, while differing on several honors: Davi favored blockchain.info, Cody Wilson, Jason King, and the Free State Project, while Thomas awarded Coinbase, Andreas Antonopoulos, Mad Bitcoins, and Bitcoin 1000. The shared landing was that 2013 turned Bitcoin from a niche currency into a visible public network, with its failures now part of the archive rather than reasons to dismiss it.
What they were watching
The year-end frame watched Bitcoin rise from double digits to quadruple digits, with Thomas identifying Bitcoin 1000 as the defining moment and Davi pointing to Cyprus as the earlier monetary signal. Organic levels included Litecoin’s move from $4 to $48, Bitcoin’s 107% weekly move around the 1,000 break, and Roger Ver’s 1,000 Bitcoin donation bet.
Bitcoin Wins The Year
The first award asked who the biggest winner in Bitcoin was. Davi answered Bitcoiners themselves, while Thomas awarded Bitcoin as the currency of the future, citing broadening public awareness. The opening established the episode’s central premise: 2013 belonged less to one person than to the network’s emergence.
Ross Ulbricht And Mt. Gox
The biggest loser award went to Ross Ulbricht, framed as an alleged operator who made ordinary operational mistakes while handling extraordinary risk. Mt. Gox was named worst company for its banking and withdrawal failures, though Davi pushed back that much of the damage came from government action. Apple, BitMit, and Sheep Marketplace received dishonorable mention as additional institutional failures.
Coinbase, Blockchain, And Access
Davi selected blockchain.info as the best company because of its wallet popularity and features. Thomas chose Coinbase for ease of use, safety for newcomers, and its $31 million in venture funding. The contrast reflected two early Bitcoin priorities: principled wallet infrastructure and mass-market onboarding.
Cyprus Versus Bitcoin 1000
The defining moment split between Cyprus and Bitcoin reaching 1,000. Davi chose Cyprus because bank depositors suddenly had an exit from a distressed fiat system, while Thomas chose Bitcoin 1000 because it drew media attention and broad public awareness. Both choices treated Bitcoin’s value as monetary escape rather than price alone.
Litecoin And Altcoin Legitimacy
The biggest surprise was Litecoin’s jump from $4 to $48 after a long period near $2.50. Thomas framed it as Litecoin becoming silver to Bitcoin’s gold, while Davi later gave Namecoin serious attention because it offered distributed domain registration rather than simple monetary imitation. Altcoins were treated as uncertain but no longer ignorable.
Bad Arguments And Bad Technical Ideas
The bum rap went to claims that Bitcoin was a bubble, pyramid scheme, Ponzi scheme, tulip mania, Beanie Baby, or dot-com rerun. The worst technical innovation went to colored coins or coin tainting, which Thomas and Davi both saw as a threat to fungibility and neutrality. The episode’s institutional line was clear: bad analogies waste time, but tainting could damage Bitcoin itself.
Original Thinkers And New Rails
Davi named Cody Wilson for moving from 3D-printed guns to Dark Wallet, while Thomas named Andreas Antonopoulos for global speaking and YouTube work. Best new offering went to CheapAir accepting Bitcoin, with honorable mention to Virgin Galactic. Best technical innovation split between coin mixing and Coinbase email payments, representing privacy and usability as the year’s two practical frontiers.
Bitcoiner Of The Year
Davi nominated Jason King for Sean’s Outpost and Satoshi Forest, while Thomas awarded Mad Bitcoins for the daily show, The Bitcoin Group, and Who Wants To Be A Bitcoin Heir. Honorable mentions went to the Free State Project, Roger Ver, and the Winklevoss twins. The category was openly self-aware, part archive and part show-business.
"Bitcoin is the biggest winner of the year."— Thomas Hunt
"A true American tragedy."— Thomas Hunt
"I think this one's pretty objective. I think it's blockchain.info."— Davi Barker
"Can we declare the government the worst Bitcoin company of the year?"— Davi Barker
"It is a network. It's the Bitcoin network that is the future."— Thomas Hunt
"I've had enough of Peter Schiff."— Davi Barker
Story of the Week
Bitcoin Becomes The Year’s Institution
The dominant story was not a single weekly event, but the construction of Bitcoin’s 2013 memory. Thomas and Davi treated the year as the moment Bitcoin became visible to ordinary Americans, governments, media, charities, exchanges, app stores, and old payment companies. The episode cataloged not only victories but institutional frictions: Mt. Gox, Apple, coin tainting, bad media analogies, and the Silk Road arrest. By turning the year into categories, the show made its own first attempt at curation.
"Bitcoin is the biggest winner of the year."— Thomas Hunt