Events Drove

"The Cypriot banking crisis helped establish bitcoin as a potential refuge from government confiscation, sending its price sharply higher as depositors feared that bank accounts could be frozen or reduced. Subsequent events, including U.S. seizures connected to Silk Road, regulatory attention, venture investment, Chinese speculation, the rise of industrial mining, and the collapse of Mt. Gox, produced both enthusiasm and severe price swings. The loss of customer bitcoins at Mt. Gox, arrests connected to illicit money transmission, Chinese restrictions, and proposed regulations intensified doubts about bitcoin's reliability."