2014 was a pretty awful year for Bitcoin. And 2015 doesn't seem to be starting much better than last year finished.

However, now is quite likely a great time to get into Bitcoin, the blockchain and related services. It seems that the late 2013 peak was driven by euphoria and unrealistic expectations and now we're heading into a trough of broken dreams but it is worth remembering that fundamentally, these technologies still have enormous potential and global applicability. It just seems that it'll take longer and be harder than originally expected (surprise!).

So, for all of us not directly affected by the Bitstamp hack, it should be business as usual. No cause for alarm, no cause for a party. Time to knuckle down and make the hard yards towards what remains a huge and worthwhile goal.