Blockchain, blockchain, blockchain: The 10 most popular startup news articles for 2018

Looking at what StartupSmart readers liked the most this year, one clear trend sticks out: blockchain and Bitcoin were the hottest topics of 2018.

Out of the top 10 most-read articles for the last 12 months, blockchain-related ones took the lion’s share, with our coverage of local startups such as CanYa, PowerLedger, Havven, and intimate claiming six spots of the 10.

And at the top of the list (by a very significant margin) was a report on the fake Bitcoin trading advertisements which have plagued Steve Baxter and the rest of Australia’s five Shark Tank investors all year.

Startupland’s obsession with all things blockchain is entirely fair and reasonable. Although not a new form of technology, blockchain and cryptocurrency burst into prominence in late-2017 and into 2018, with startups across the world raising millions in mere seconds through initial coin offerings (ICOs).

The hype around blockchain hit unprecedented levels throughout March and started to peter out as the associated market capitalisation of crypto did too. Bitcoin plunged a massive 75% in 2018, and so too has the interest in the technology — almost none of the interest in blockchain-related articles came from the last six months.

Other points of interest for StartupStart readers includes the liquidation of app development golden child Appster and the issuing of Australia’s first-ever equity crowdfunding licenses.

If you missed any of these top stories in 2018, check them out below.

1. Shark Tank judges Steve Baxter and Janine Allis targeted in fake Bitcoin trading advertisements

2. Multimillion-dollar app development company Appster collapses into liquidation, leaving businesses stranded

3. Aussie blockchain startup Power Ledger forms US partnership to roll out “hundreds” of energy trading projects

4. Ten Australian blockchain companies raising millions and disrupting industries

5. Blockchain marketplace startup CanYa raises $12 million in Australia’s second-largest initial coin offering

6. Sydney-based blockchain startup Havven raises $39 million in Australia’s largest ICO

7. Secretive $4.3 billion Aussie startup Zoox raises “unprecedented” $675 million Series B, backed by Atlassian’s Mike Cannon-Brookes

8. Sex industry blockchain startup intimate raises $4.5 million in pre-sale ahead of full ICO next month

9. Eleven fearless female founders to watch in 2018

10. The first Australian equity crowdfunding licences have been issued