Bitcoin Named 2017 Term of the Year by Investopedia

NEW YORK, Dec. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Investopedia, the premier online source of trusted financial content, has released its 2017 Top Financial Terms list. The top ten terms, as measured by search volume and percentage gains, reflect investor interest, key trends and news events over the last 12 months. The list includes terms such as "Bitcoin," "Blockchain" and "FAANG", as well as new regulations and other reform items on Trump's agenda.

"Investors clearly have disruptive technology on the mind this year. Search results for terms such as artificial intelligence, bitcoin and blockchain have dominated our traffic," said David Siegel, CEO of Investopedia. "While we don't know yet how these trends will play out in 2018, what we do know is that investors are craving more information and insight on how to get involved with new offerings like bitcoin and how innovative technology is going to impact their investing, personal and professional lives."

Investopedia experienced another year of record traffic gains and revenue growth as users around the world continually rely on the site for timely, trusted, and actionable financial information. November was the highest traffic month on record for the site, which drew over 27 million visitors and served 85 million page views. Video streams topped 24 million.

Investopedia is the go-to source for financial and investing research content with over 15,000 terms and 40,000 additional educational articles. In keeping with the latest trends and innovations, Investopedia adds and updates thousands of new terms on the site every year. The list of 2017 Top Financial Terms showcases the most prevalent issues and trends impacting investors this year.

Top 10 Terms of 2017

10. Millennials: With baby boomers and Gen Xers in retirement or rapidly approaching it, millennials are about to witness the largest wealth transfer in history, bringing major changes to traditional investing tactics and retirement planning.

9. Behavioral Economics: With thanks to Professor Richard Thaler, a key proponent of behavioral economics, this term jumped back into the spotlight when Thaler won the 2017 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his development of the nudge theory.

8. Impact Investing: A subset of socially responsible investing, impact investing aims to generate not only financial gain but also social and environmental benefits. As millennials continue to increase their wealth and start investing, they are increasingly interested in aligning their money with their values. This has catalyzed investment management firms to build new funds and products to cater to their new customers' needs.

7. Artificial Intelligence: One of the buzziest words in 2017, firms across all industries are talking about adopting machine learning and artificial intelligence. While 2017 was the year of building AI technology, 2018 will be the year the industry sees it in application.

6. MiFID II: This is the newest European regulation that financial firms must comply with by January 3, 2018. Financial services firms are spending tens of millions of dollars to adapt to these new regulations, which are designed to make investing safer and more transparent.

5. Trumpcare: President Trump made repealing Obamacare one of his top priorities as he attempted to pass his Trumpcare bill three times. While Obamacare still lives to fight another day, the administration is attempting to roll back key parts of the Affordable Healthcare Act through the latest tax reform plan and other measures.

4. ICO: With celebrity endorsers like DJ Khaled and Paris Hilton, ICO's have been one of the most talked about terms not only in the financial space, but in the mainstream media, as well. While more than three billion dollars has been raised in ICOs, the SEC and other regulatory bodies have cracked down on the offerings. Despite this, investment flows have not slowed amidst the bitcoin boom.

3. FAANG: This new term was coined by Jim Cramer to represent the top performing stocks in the market, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google (Alphabet). These five companies continue to dominate financial headlines as their market caps race to $1 Trillion.

2. Blockchain: Wall Street might write bitcoin off as all hype, but blockchain is poised to disrupt multiple industries. In 2017, CB Insights reported that more than $327 million was invested in blockchain start-ups this year, with major backing from major brands such as Google, Goldman Sachs and Citi.

1. Bitcoin: $8,000! $11,000! $20,000?! 2017 was the year of bitcoin mania. The cryptocurrency started the year at $1,000 and since then, has risen more than 1500%. While some say bitcoin is a bubble, its aggressive growth has dominated the minds of the media and the financial services sector. 2017 saw the first bitcoin billionaires as well as the introduction of bitcoin futures. With only 1,000 users owning more than 40% of the currency, according to some reports, investors are carefully watching if the price will fall or continue to rally.

Honorable Mentions: In 2017, Investopedia added 250 new terms, and while not all of them made it to the top, these have made the list as the most interesting new terms added.

Jay Z: The rapper turned financial mogul is officially a term on Investopedia.com.

Potcoin: The cryptocurrency solely dedicated to buying marijuana, hemp and cannabis products.

"We have seen investing manias before, but the hype around bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and the blockchain have created unprecedented user interest on Investopedia, and across all media in 2017," said Caleb Silver, editor in chief at Investopedia. "Our job is to make our readers and visitors as smart as we can so they can make responsible investments and decisions despite the hype. We will continue to drive that mission across our terms, articles, videos and now the Investopedia Academy."

Investopedia is the leading source of financial terms and educational resources in the world, attracting more than 27 million unique viewers per month and over 80 million page views.

About Investopedia  

Investopedia is the go-to destination investors use to make smarter financial decisions. Powered by a team of data scientists and financial experts, Investopedia offers timely, trusted and actionable financial information for its over 30 million monthly visitors, from early investors to financial advisors to high net worth individuals. Investopedia is wholly owned by IAC (NASDAQ: IAC) and operated by IAC Publishing, a collection of some of the web's largest and most trusted digital media brands. For the latest in financial news and insights, visit http://www.investopedia.com.

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SOURCE Investopedia