1. The number of cryptocurrency and blockchain patent applications filed skyrocketed along with the price of Bitcoin.
As the price of Bitcoin skyrocketed 32,500 percent from under 400 dollars at the beginning of 2016 to over 13,000 dollars by the end of 2017, the number of cryptocurrency and blockchain patent applications filed at the United States Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) nearly doubled. In fact, a keyword search for “blockchain” or “cryptocurrency” shows that there are over 700 pending published applications containing at least one of these terms. Indeed, that number may be even greater considering some applicants choose not to publish their pending applications.
