Just as the first tweets of returning birds suggests to us that the full green spring season really is around the corner, there are certain indicators that new technologies and ideas such as Bitcoin are finally acquiring some mind share in the public space.

My favorite in reverse order:

5. BTC spot price quoted on bing & OANDA

First, Bitcoin got its own currency code (BTC). Then, one of the most widely used retail Forex sites – www.OANDA.com – added BTC to its currency list in April 2013, allowing for historical currency comparison charts. In early 2014 bing became the first search engine to show a relative pricing of 1 BTC to your local currency, drawing on conversion rate information provided by Coinbase.

4. A senate hearing discusses BTC

Bitcoin transactions hit the Homeland Security radar in April 2013 when prices spiked for the first time, and concerns on Silk Road’s shadier uses of Bitcoin posed concern. The subsequent Senate hearings listened to presentations from the Justice Department, the Secret Service and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network representatives that confirmed there were a number of legitimate potential uses for bitcoin transactions. This validation was a contributing factor to the subsequent meteoric price rise shown in the graph above.Governments across the globe continue to work with their Central Banks to protect their constituents, and understand the implications and opportunities presented with crypto-currencies.

3. The taxman wants his little piece of the pie

Tech-forward Canada’s CRA lead the way by publishing ‘guidance’ on the use and taxation treatment of Bitcoin transations last year – walking a tight-rope between encouraging innovation and moderating exuberance.

Britain and the US have joined other nations in providing guidelines for the 2013 tax year, each with   variations on the tax implications of mining, holding or transacting in bitcoin.  Coindesk has a comprehensive and current round-up of the latest tax and legal treatments across the globe. When the taxman begins to care, we are no longer talking monopoly money.

2. You make the late night monologue

You felt it as you laughed alongside Jon Stewart‘s performance, and then realized it while reading the Huffington Post blog the next day!

1. It shows up in your favorite TV shows

The Good Wife did it again. This show has always had its pulse on ideas, particularly technologies that are cutting edge.

The Good Wife – S3E13 “Bitcoin for Dummies”

 It first introduced its viewers to Bitcoin in January 2012 in Season 3, Episode 13 – ‘Bitcoin for Dummies’, an episode of intrigue as the Feds and the Treasury search for Mr Bitcoin, and in which Alicia Florrick asks her children to explain Bitcoin to her.

The Good Wife S5-E20 “The Deep Web”

This past week, they did it again.  “The Deep Web” (S5E20) script interwove technology with ethics and law, and threw out references on everything from lithium ion batteries to voice recognition, and with a case that involved Silk Road , Bitcoin again made a cameo appearance!

You have a sense when Spring is inevitable, a feeling that it if finally ok to shed your coat and come out into the sun. That moment may be coming for Bitcoin!

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Over to you:

– Do you have a favorite Bitcoin reference moment on media?  What was it?

– What other technologies do you see playing a bigger role in our futures, based on your observations?