Electronic Payments International lists the top five terms tweeted in payment tech in December 2019, based on data from GlobalData’s Influencer Platform.

The top tweeted terms are the trending industry discussions happening on Twitter by key individuals (influencers) as tracked by the platform.

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1. Bitcoin – 957 mentions

Performance over the last decade and growing acceptance across the world made bitcoin a popular mention on Twitter in December 2019. The cryptocurrency was valued at $0 at the start of the decade and raised to more than $3,000 in the beginning of 2019, tweeted Alistair Milne, the co-founder and CIO of Atlanta Digital Currency Fund.

Bitcoin also trended in discussions related to its performance versus gold, the obstacles to its success, criticism towards its reliability, the ‘halving’ process, and adoption trends.

The most mentioned terms in discussions related to bitcoin were cryptocurrency followed by blockchain, wallets, ethereum, payments, and digital currencies.

‏2. Cryptocurrency – 809 mentions

Crypto and cryptocurrencies were the second most mentioned terms during the month. Influencers discussed about cryptocurrencies in discussions such as the removal of cryptocurrency-related videos from YouTube due to violations of community guidelines, alternative currencies vs fiat, safety and security, and the need for cryptocurrencies to be simple.

Improved security for trading digital currencies was highlighted in tweets by digital currency trading platforms ShapeShift and Coinbase that came up with new features to safely transact using cryptocurrencies. Shapeshift now supports three wallets including Keepkey, Trezor, and Ledger, according to a tweet by Erik Voorhees, CEO of ShapeShift.

The most mentioned terms in discussions related to cryptocurrencies were blockchain followed by bitcoin and fintech.

3. Blockchain – 507 mentions

Blockchain was discussed in relation to the increasing investments being made in the technology. Venture capital investments in the blockchain industry have increased over the years from $2m in 2012 to $2.5bn in 2019, tweeted Jameson Lopp, a bitcoin supporter. News that Grammy award-winning DJ duo The Chainsmokers’ plan to invest in a blockchain-focused technology investment firm, Mantis Venture Capital, trended on Twitter during the month.

The technology also trended for the recent support gained from economists and regulators. Nobel laureates and economists, Alvin Roth and Oliver Hart are serving as advisors for blockchain start-ups Covee Network and Prysm Group, respectively. Further, the SEC Chairman Jay Clayton recently backed the technology, tweeted Brock Pierce, a capitalist. Blockchain was upheld by Clayton as being capable of aiding in capital formation and providing investment opportunities.

Fintech was the most mentioned term in discussions related to blockchain followed by crypto, bitcoin, cryptocurrency and financial services.

4. Fintech – 381 mentions

Upcoming developments in fintech and predictions for the sector in 2020 were popular on Twitter. Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, blockchain, 5G, Chinese fintech ecosystems, and cyber security were some of the major discussions around fintech.

One prediction for the sector that gained much attention was the increase in competition between China and India in the digital lending market in 2020. This was tweeted by Theodora Lau, the founder of Unconventional Ventures. India has made several advances in terms of digital payments systems, but China is one step ahead with the implementation of digital currencies.

Another important trend that is expected to emerge in fintech is the use of technologies such as AI and 5G, tweeted by venture capitalist Spiros Margaris. AI and machine learning are expected to play a significant role in the industry. They will be used by banks and underwriters to analyse spending behaviour and determine credit worthiness.

The most mentioned terms in discussions related to fintech were payments, financial services, banking, blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

5. Ethereum – 158 mentions

The increased acceptance and support for ethereum as a cryptocurrency was the most trending topic discussed during the month. ZK Sync framework for Ethereum was introduced by Matter Labs in December, tweeted Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, a consumer internet company.

The new framework will enable thousands of transactions per second (TPS) to ethereum similar in scale to Visa. The news was hailed by many as game-changing for ethereum, which has been denounced in the past as being nothing but a science project.

The shift in support for ethereum was also highlighted in an article tweeted by Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group, a company offering support to bitcoin and blockchain companies. The article details how doubt and criticism in the sector have been replaced by co-operation and collaboration. The ethereum community is no longer fighting amongst themselves and is collaborating to advance the currency, according to the article.

Bitcoin emerged as the most discussed term in discussions related to ethereum followed by crypto, blockchain, fintech and securities.