With 2013 wrapping up we’ve seen some amazing movement and popularization for the cryptocurrency so-named Bitcoin. The beginning of 2013 saw BTC value at $13 and through a series of leaps and bounds the value eventually exceeded $1000—this is great for speculators but the general volatility has been feared as something of a thorn in the side of adoption. That said, the increase in value has also come along with a booster shot of general media popularity which itself has driven a great deal of adoption.

Bitcoin Friday in 2013 saw even more merchants climbing on board giving 100 this year, above and beyond 75 last year. Through 2013 BitPay saw a 6,260% increase, Coinbase saw 806% (6 month average), and BitDazzle saw a 300% (1 month average.) Of course, with the relative newness of various tools it’s hard to give a proper over-the-year report on them.

2014 expectations are high for the world in general

Amidst luminaries in the Bitcoin community the virtual currency is expected to see a notable rise across the world. As popularity continues to increase in the United States, Europe, and China—there’s a number of other markets yet-untapped that could benefit greatly from BTC.

“2014 will be the year that Bitcoin gains mainstream acceptance as a common payment method around the world,” says Roger Ver, Bitcoin Angel Investor.

As it turns out, Ver is not alone in the thought that next year will be the year that Bitcoin becomes noticed as a powerful medium of exchange.

“We expect exponential growth in the popularity of bitcoin around the world with both merchants and consumers,” Stephen Pair, BitPay’s co-founder and CTO, “and anticipate seeing the biggest growth in China, India, Russia and South America.”

In fact, India has already been cited as the next likely popular market that Bitcoin could move into. As could Africa benefit hugely from using BTC as a currency-of-exchange to get around not having a functioning central bank system (or any other country that relies heavily on mobile payments.)

Bitcoin’s expansion in 2014 will be led with apps and tools

“We’ve finally begun to overcome some of the initial infrastructure and regulatory concerns. 2013 was really the year of Bitcoin,” says Jon Holmquist, founder of Bitcoin Black Friday. “Moving into 2014 we’ll see some pretty awesome developments for both merchants and consumers. I also think more tools will pop up to compliment Bitcoin and fix any underlying problems it faces.”

Coinbase and BitPay have really led the charge into giving merchants an easy way to accept and process Bitcoins in 2013 and alongside them a slew of mobile and web apps have entered the number of tools consumers can make use of. With something like BTC it’s simple-as-a-camera-click or an NFC swipe with a smartphone to pay for a coffee or groceries. All of these opportunities will need to be driven by software tools that address the thoughts and needs of the market.

And much of the mobile front will probably be on Android (we’re looking at you Apple.)