cryptocurrency Concepts

Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency

by Andy Greenberg · 15 Nov 2022 · 494pp · 121,217 words

. Windsor Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Greenberg, Andy, author. Title: Tracers in the dark: the global hunt for the crime lords of cryptocurrency / Andy Greenberg. Description: First edition. | New York: Doubleday, [2022] | Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: LCCN 2022005413 (print) | LCCN 2022005414 (ebook) | ISBN 9780385548090 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780385548106

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Luxury Hotel & Villas website, avaton.com. GO TO NOTE REFERENCE IN TEXT Alexander Vinnik suddenly found himself: Andrei Zakharov, “Hunting the Missing Millions from Collapsed Cryptocurrency,” BBC News, Dec. 30, 2019. GO TO NOTE REFERENCE IN TEXT CHAPTER 41: “SERACH VIDEOS” When Janczewski and Gambaryan first copied: Welcome to Video

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law enforcement. See Operation Bayonet IP address of server for, 158, 200–2 long-term effects of takedown of, 236–7 Monero as exclusive cryptocurrency on, 314–15 privacy coins and, 299 products banned on, 146, 314 publicity surrounding takedown of, 229 reopening of in 2021, 313–14 Russia and

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of Bitcoin in 2015 by, 136–7 theft from Silk Road by, 112–16. See also Silk Road, theft of $350,000 from BTC-e (cryptocurrency exchange): Bridges, Shaun, and, 136 creation of, 131 dark web ties to, 123–4, 127 Gambaryan, Tigran, and, 127–30, 132–4 Individual X

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secrecy of, 119, 122–3 See also Vinnik, Alexander Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (U.S.), 162 C California Franchise Tax Board, 23 CampBX (cryptocurrency exchange), 66, 75, 80 Camtasia (screen recording program), 79 Canton Business Corporation, 123 Capone, Al, 282 Carmakal, Charles, 296 Cazes, Alexandre: AlphaBay administration by,

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by, 172–6 Bonakdar, Roger, and, 219–20 cars owned by, 157, 159, 165–6, 205, 214–15 credit card fraud business of, 145–6 cryptocurrency owned by, 218 daily schedule of, 194 death of, 221–7, 229, 314–15 demeanor of, 156–7 Desjardins, Paul, and, 156–7 financial

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–18 blockchain analysis tools of, 106, 173, 316–18 BTC-e study by, 292 cluster audit technique of, 258 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and, 301 cryptocurrency exchange use of, 137 customers of, 310–11 DarkLeaks document stolen from, 316–18 founding of, 100–2 Gladstein, Alex, and, 306–7, 309

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2021 and, 307, 311 vetting of customers by, 310–11 Welcome to Video case and, 258 See also Gronager, Michael; Levin, Jonathan; Møller, Jan Chatex (cryptocurrency exchange), 302 Chaum, David, 45 Chen, Adrian, 33–4 child sexual abuse materials (CSAM): dark web traffic volume and, 247 Internal Revenue Service (U.

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and Exploited Children and, 274 as term, 239 See also Childs Play; Dark Scandals; Love Zone; Welcome to Video Childs Play (CSAM website), 344 China: cryptocurrency potential in, 306 Christin, Nicolas: Agora analysis by, 124 AlphaBay analysis by, 148, 236–7, 340, 345–6 Evolution analysis by, 124 Silk Road

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analysis by, 36, 38 CipherTrace, 138 Circle (cryptocurrency exchange), 245 Clark, Graham Ivan, 289n Clockwork Orange, A (1971 film), 258 Cloud 9 (dark web market), 123 Cloudflare, 127–8 CNA Financial: ransomware

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Comment Ça Marche (online forum), 159–60 Cox, Joseph, 147 Cross-Input Signature Aggregation, 309 “Crypto Anarchist Manifesto, The” (May), 29 cryptoanarchy, 29–30, 37 cryptocurrency: anonymity of, 45–6 banks’ lack of trust in, 99–100 criminal use of, 305 development of, 29–30 mixer services for, 172–3, 289

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North Korea, 288 from Silk Road, 68–9, 81–2, 111–15, 292–4 cryptography: as privacy tool, 44–5, 62 Cryptowatch, 107–8 CryptoXchange (cryptocurrency exchange), 132 CSAM. See child sexual abuse materials Customs and Border Protection (U.S.), 261–3, 290–1 CyberBunker, 287 cypherpunks, 27–30, 37

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executive order), 308 Erin (pseud.; FBI analyst): Cazes, Alexandre, case and, 171–7, 193, 215, 218 Escobar, Pablo, 164 Esposito, Calogero. See Bridges, Shaun Ethereum (cryptocurrency), 218 European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), 96 Europol: conference on virtual currency investigations at, 199–201 Hansa case and, 186, 198, 229, 235 Operation

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–2, 228 F Falder, Matthew, 243–4 Falkvinge, Rick, 97 Farivar, Cyrus, 331, 336, 340 Faruqui, Zia: Gambaryan, Tigran, and, 125–6 North Korean cryptocurrency theft cases and, 288 Tamsi, Thomas, and, 256–7 virtual currency strike force of, 125 Welcome to Video case and, 246–7, 254–6, 263

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, Tigran, and, 238 Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement group and, 235 NetWalker case and, 300 New York field office of, 64 North Korean cryptocurrency theft cases and, 288 Operation Onymous and, 123 ransomware cases and, 301–2 Sacramento field office of, 160, 167, 194 Silk Road takedown by, 64

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, 66–76, 78–82 Greenberg, Andy, and, 323–6 Gronager, Michael, and, 111–12, 122, 130 Individual X case and, 292–4 interest in cryptocurrency of, 24–5, 35 at Internal Revenue Service, 23–4 Levin, Jonathan, and, 238–9, 292 Monero and, 324 at National Cyber Investigative Joint Task

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Bitfinex theft case and, 324 Dark Scandals case and, 281 effect of Welcome to Video investigation on, 279, 282 Gambaryan, Tigran, and, 239 North Korean cryptocurrency theft cases and, 288 Son Jong-woo release from prison and, 280 at TRM Labs, 324 Welcome to Video case and, 3–5, 245–7

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5, 118, 120 Kennedy, Maddie, 310–12 kingpin statute, 18, 219 Kober, Alice, 44 Korean National Police Agency. See National Police Agency (South Korea) Kraken (cryptocurrency exchange), 91, 96, 99–100 Krebs, Brian, 57–8 Kryptos (sculpture), 43 L Laos, 162 Large Hadron Collider, 96 Lazarus Group, 288 Lebua (Bangkok hotel

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200 Gambaryan, Tigran, and, 199–201, 238–9, 292 Individual X case and, 292–4 Welcome to Video case and, 243–6, 283 Liberty Reserve (cryptocurrency), 291 Line (messaging app), 205 Linear A, 44 Linear B, 44 Linux Unified Key Setup, 183 Liu, Jesse, 283 LocalBitcoins (peer-to-peer exchanger),

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152 Love Zone (CSAM website), 191 Luno (cryptocurrency exchange), 324 Lysyanskaya, Anna, 45 M M (Thai agent), 212–13 Manchin, Joe, 34 Mandiant, 296 Mansoor, Ahmed, 310–11 Marion, Louisa: Cazes, Alexandre,

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dark web drug cases and, 153–4 Mohammad, Michael Rahim, 281 Møller, Jan, 101–2, 105–7, 169. See also Chainalysis Monahan, Greg, 283 Monero (cryptocurrency): Cazes, Alexandre, and, 218 dark web markets and, 299 as privacy coin, 298–9 traceability of, 299–300, 316, 324 Mr. Dark. See Mohammad,

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York Times, 301 New York University: BTC-e study by, 292 Nilsson, Kim, 129, 137 Nob. See Force, Carl Mark, IV North Korea: cryptocurrency thefts by, 288 cryptocurrency use in, 306 as inaccessible to U.S. law enforcement, 301 ransomware groups and, 300–1 NSO (spyware contractor), 310 Nueng (pseud.): Cazes, Alexandre

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SaboTor, 235 Ormsby, Eileen, 331 Outlaw Market (dark web market), 123 P Pandora (dark web market), 123 Patreon, 306 PayPal, 24, 306 peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchangers, 152 Pelker, Alden, 127, 248, 287 Peña, Javier, 164 Perlroth, Nicole, 345 PGP (encryption program), 70–1, 78, 198 Philippines: as sex tourism

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138 Welcome to Video case and, 244, 246, 258 redandwhite (pseud.), 85 Rettig, Charles, 282–3 REvil (ransomware group), 302–3 Rhysider, Jack, 340 Ripple (cryptocurrency startup), 11 Rivest, Ron, 45 RonSwanson (pseud.), 187–8 Roosh V (online forum), 178–9, 194, 209 Rosetta stone, 44 Royal Canadian Mounted Police: Operation

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, 194 Cazes, Alexandre, arrest and, 209, 213, 215 Cazes, Alexandre, death and, 221–2, 225–6 Cazes, Alexandre, interviews with, 216–17, 220–1 cryptocurrency knowledge of, 167 at DEA, 162–3 at Luno, 324 Royal Thai Police and, 193–4 Sanger, David, 345 san-nakji, 256–7 Satoshi Dice

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1 surveillance of by law enforcement, 269 South Chungcheong, 269 spam email: research on by Savage, Stefan, 52 SQLite, 101 Sterlingov, Roman, 290–1 Suex (cryptocurrency exchange), 302 suspicious activity report: on Force, Carl, 13, 67, 135, 326 legal requirement to file, 151 Suttenberg, Lindsay, 254–5, 257, 267, 281 Sybil

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, 65n, 123, 148 TorBox, 265 Tor Carding Forum, 145 Tor Project, 247n Torre, Berny, 344 Tox Chat, 196 traceroute command, 127, 253, 265 Trade Hill (cryptocurrency exchange), 119, 131 TRM Labs, 324 “Tunafish” (Bitcoin address codename), 174–5, 215 Turton, William, 345 Twitter: 2020 hack of, 288–9 U Ulbricht,

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Geoffrey, 52, 55 W WalletExplorer, 113, 169, 317 Wall Street Journal, The, 137, 229, 303 Wall Street Market (dark web drug market), 287–8 Wasabi (cryptocurrency wallet), 317 Weaver, Nick, 84–5, 291 WebMoney Exchanger, 132 Welcome to Video (CSAM market): administrator of, 245, 254, 259, 264–5. See also Son

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Jong-woo BTC-e database and investigation of, 265 chat page at, 251, 264 cryptocurrency use on, 244–7, 252–3, 275 extreme content on, 250–1 Falder, Matthew, and, 244 investigation of. See Welcome to Video investigation IP

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8 Wieczner, Jen, 337 WikiLeaks, 28 Wilson, Cody, 97 WME. See Vinnik, Alexander Y Yerevan, 20–1 Yomiuri Shimbun, 104 Yum, Ilhwan, 85 Z Zcash (cryptocurrency): Cazes, Alexandre, and, 218 dark web markets and, 299 lack of popularity of, 310 as privacy coin, 298–9 shielded transactions of, 298–9 traceability

The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze

by Laura Shin · 22 Feb 2022 · 506pp · 151,753 words

publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Shin, Laura, author. Title: The cryptopians : idealism, greed, lies, and the making of the first big cryptocurrency craze / Laura Shin. Description: First edition. | New York : PublicAffairs, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2021035607 | ISBN 9781541763012 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781541763005 (epub) Subjects

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: LCSH: Cryptocurrencies—History. | Money—History—21st century. | Finance—History—21st century. Classification: LCC HG1710.3 .S55 2021 | DDC 332.4—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn

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investors large and small: initial coin offerings (ICOs). A cross between a Kickstarter campaign, an IPO, and bitcoin, ICOs enabled projects to raise funds in cryptocurrency by giving people a new token, and they took off, showing how quickly a tsunami of economically incentivized developers could raise money to shake up

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, it was the spring of Vitalik’s high school senior year. Since starting at Bitcoin Magazine, he’d continued writing his clear prose about the cryptocurrency online: The Bitcoin network is the network of computers through which Bitcoin transactions are broadcasted and which maintains the public blockchain. Sometimes, the term is

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arrived, he saw it featured twelve articles on topics such as the personality of anonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, the history of previous attempts at cryptocurrency, and the Bitcoin bubble of 2011. (The price had barely budged from Christmastime and was now about $5.) Scanning the magazine’s sixty-nine

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of the white paper as follows: The Ethereum protocol’s design philosophy is in many ways the opposite from that taken by many other cryptocurrencies today. Other cryptocurrencies aim to add complexity and increase the number of “features”; Ethereum, on the other hand, takes features away. The protocol does not “support” multisignature

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to a computer science degree, he had worked at a kids’ math-learning platform, which was how he’d taken notice of Bitcoin. He explored cryptocurrencies and even worked on Mastercoin briefly. Then a friend from Mastercoin sent him the Ethereum white paper, since Jeff enjoyed writing computer languages. He found

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of the network for itself. This was the model that internet giants like Google, Facebook, and Twitter followed, which the libertarian and cypherpunk Bitcoin and cryptocurrency crowd eschewed. Anthony, a believer in capitalism and incentives, even wanted its software to be closed-source, with the company itself the only entity that

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moved in the Friday before—the dishwasher was being installed as the few dozen attendees strolled in. Some Berlin employees who were completely new to cryptocurrency, like Felix, found the event way over their heads but magical. Gustav Simonsson, a programmer who’d been watching Ethereum but had thought that

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the internet, it was set up as a multisig, in which multiple signers were required to move money.) Michael had previously built such systems for cryptocurrency exchanges and gambling sites. He’d developed a thirteen-page cold storage policy and a six-page key compromise protocol, which outlined the procedure to

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, should have been included.) Previously, when Anthony and the BAC had presented to the Ontario Securities Commission and a regulator asked about the security of cryptocurrencies, Anthony had said, “Well, you’re at risk now”—referring to the traditional financial system. (Anthony says the regulator’s question was about quantum computing

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three-hour conversation that he had enjoyed. They bonded over being geeks and how they’d both survived the traditional school system. Plus, they talked cryptocurrency. Since Gavin and Jeff preferred the UN candidate, Vitalik, who wanted Ming, came up with a compromise: if the UN candidate requested a high

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four senior and junior developers.16 In recent weeks, Ming had tried convincing Vitalik to let Gavin go, but Vitalik—whose whole life revolved around cryptocurrency broadly, if not Ethereum exclusively—was resistant. Even though Gavin berated him and could be dismissive (in the yellow paper, he credited Vitalik with

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identities and make sure that if an entity, say, Slock.it, submitted a payment request, the account requesting it was indeed Slock.it’s. In cryptocurrency parlance, they would serve as “oracles”—agents that verify non-blockchain-based information for use by a smart contract. One curator, Fabian Vogelsteller, the full

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for eight thousand ETH (around $99,000) for one year. THE NEXT DAY, a day before the crowdsale ended, a Cornell professor prominent in the cryptocurrency space, Emin Gün Sirer, along with Ethereum Foundation researcher Vlad Zamfir and Dino Mark, an entrepreneur who also collaborated with ConsenSys’s Joe Lubin, published

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mock-summarized the argument from a pro-ETC Reddit post as ETC “will make better decisions,” so “trust us.” (A long-standing philosophy of the cryptocurrency community was “trustlessness,” meaning blockchain technology could be used in transactions that normally require people to trust others but would instead operate like a financial

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for trading ETH. The exchange, which had been pivotal to the survival of Ethereum Classic, alone accounted for half of global transaction volume in all cryptocurrencies, mainly due to interest in Ethereum and margin trading. Even as it often topped the charts of crypto exchanges worldwide, the company, which was also

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a legal or business background were specifically looking at the Securities and Exchange Commission. While the SEC had performed a handful of enforcement actions involving cryptocurrency, in 2016 there was only one and in 2017 only one regarding a Bitcoin fraud.14 The agency had, however, dropped hints. At the

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and Unikrn were somewhat well-known, the others were no-name projects. He’d also invested in two Chinese projects, Vechain and Qtum. To uninformed cryptocurrency investors, having an Ethereum cofounder on an ICO advisory board gave it an imprimatur of legitimacy, but other crypto community members felt Anthony was mostly

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for “hyping” the price of ether, which raised conflict-of-interest issues when it came to consulting clients who couldn’t risk endorsing a particular cryptocurrency. (Joe, who says he was unaware of the report, did not follow any of its recommendations.) This was the other explanation high-level ConsenSys

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from Santander, and the other was a young trader named Tyler Frederick from Fidelity, the only traditional financial services firm public about its interest in cryptocurrency, lending legitimacy to the space.34 Tyler started on the foreboding date of September 11, 2017. His interview process, done by phone and email,

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dollar value for bitcoin,” “Analyst who predicted bitcoin’s rise now sees it hitting $300,000–$400,000,” and “Trader who called bitcoin rally says cryptocurrency will surge above $100,000 in 2018.”28 News about Bitcoin and Ethereum proliferated: about teens who’d become millionaires off Bitcoin, ETH traders who

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and, in 2011, became interested in using Bitcoin for microfinance for women in developing countries. Soon after, she got a job working for Kraken, the cryptocurrency exchange that had given Vitalik office space when he had written the Ethereum white paper four years prior. She eventually became managing director of Kraken

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Copenhagen, she said, “He isn’t the decision maker. He’s a member of the community.” In the spring of 2019, Coin Jazeera, a satirical cryptocurrency site, published an article titled “Ethereum Development Halts After Vitalik Discovers Sex.” The article asked what had happened to development on Ethereum and said its

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117 million for ETH and 18.8 million for Bitcoin), had reached a market cap of around $90 billion, and briefly become the third-largest cryptocurrency. A new CryptoKitties-like game called NBA Top Shot, which sold digital collectibles (aka nonfungible tokens, or NFTs) of basketball highlight clips, generated more

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pics on Crypto Twitter, where people debated whether NFTs were the ICOs of 2021.64 It looked like the early stages of a second big cryptocurrency craze. Timeline 2011 Late winter Vitalik starts learning about Bitcoin, writing for Bitcoin Weekly June 1 Gawker article, “The Underground Website Where You Can

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ConsenSys the Brooklyn-based Ethereum venture production studio founded by Joe Lubin, which created Ethereum infrastructure tools and tried to foster decentralized applications on Ethereum cryptocurrency a digital asset produced by a blockchain that is highly fungible, divisible, and transportable and whose movements can be tracked, unless the chain has built

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application community center and coworking space in Toronto founded by Anthony Di Iorio DevCon the annual Ethereum developer conference difficulty a way of keeping a cryptocurrency mining algorithm competitive for miners such that miners will find blocks at a targeted average interval, such as ten minutes on bitcoin or twelve to

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computer that is more powerful than a typical computer’s central processing unit, or CPU, making it a more efficient and profitable way to mine cryptocurrencies (though not the most efficient and profitable) hard fork a non-backward-compatible software upgrade to a crypto network; usually refers to a “contentious”

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the nodes do not. This causes the nodes that upgrade to create a blockchain separate from the nodes running the original software, resulting in two cryptocurrencies with a shared history until the moment of the fork. (If the whole network simultaneously upgrades, which is a noncontentious hard fork, everyone stays

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over control of their coins to a company Nakamoto, Satoshi the anonymous creator of Bitcoin node a computer that helps run the software for a cryptocurrency or asset and usually maintains a copy of its blockchain Parity the Rust-language Ethereum software client; also the company (originally called Ethcore) founded

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some coins to the creators or early investors as a reward private key the cryptographic string of numbers and letters that enables one to send cryptocurrency from a specific public address (the other half of the cryptographically connected “public/private key pair”) protocol an established set of rules for the

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than a company or other intermediary, that executes the terms of an agreement between two transacting parties soft fork a backward-compatible change in a cryptocurrency protocol; it only narrows what is possible, so nodes running the older software will still accept the new blocks as valid Solidity a programming language

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downloads and views. Her writing can also be found in her Facebook Bulletin newsletter and on Medium. Shin has spoken about and led discussions on cryptocurrency at places such as TEDx San Francisco, the International Monetary Fund, Singularity University, and the Oslo Freedom Forum. She lives in New York City.

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, https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/@5122440/historic?month=7&year=2016. 42. “IC3-Ethereum Crypto Boot Camp and Workshop at Cornell University,” The Initiative for CryptoCurrencies and Contracts, accessed March 31, 2021, https://www.initc3.org/events/2016-07-20-IC3-Ethereum-Crypto-Boot-Camp-and-Workshop-at-Cornell-University.html

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,” Reddit, September 16, 2016, https://www.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/532523/the_dao_extrabalwithdraw_contract_has_now_been. 3. “Directors,” IC3: The Initiative for CryptoCurrencies & Contracts via Wayback Machine, September 10, 2016, https://web.archive.org/web/20160910051422/https://www.initc3.org/people.html. 4. “Founder of the Apache Software

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.com/1004892/the-bancor-ico-just-raised-153-million-on-ethereum-in-three-hours. 34. Wong, “Ethereum Unleashed the ‘initial coin offering’ craze.” 35. “Global Cryptocurrency Charts: Percentage of Total Market Capitalization (Dominance),” CoinMarketCap, accessed April 2, 2021, https://coinmarketcap.com/charts. 36. “The Status Network: A Strategy Towards Mass Adoption

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-price. 41. Vitalik Buterin (@VitalikButerin), “Another day, another blockchain use case,” Twitter, June 25, 2017, https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/879127496024772610?s=20. 42. “Global Cryptocurrency Charts,” CoinMarketCap. 43. MyEtherWallet (@MyEtherWallet), “Cmonnnnnnn Have you learned NOTHING from the last week?! Take your heads out greedy asses (you too, FOMO investors!) & look

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is for 1 domain,” Twitter, August 20, 2017, https://twitter.com/sniko_/status/899342140572131328/photo/1. 25. Lily Hay Newman, “A Very Dumb Mistake Costs Cryptocurrency Investors Big Time,” Wired, August 21, 2017, https://www.wired.com/story/enigma-ico-ethereum-heist. 26. Laura Shin, “Hackers Have Stolen Millions of Dollars

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Predicts Multitrillion-Dollar Value for Bitcoin,” CNBC, December 9, 2017, https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/09/bitcoin-cameron-winklevoss-predicts-multitrillion-dollar-value-for-cryptocurrency.html; Dan Murphy, “Analyst Who Predicted Bitcoin’s Rise Now Sees It Hitting $300,000–$400,000,” CNBC, December 17, 2017, https://www.cnbc.com

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‘sharting,’ then I WILL leave…,” Twitter, December 27, 2017, https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/945988644661207040?s=20. 42. Zheping Huang, “The world now has a cryptocurrency pop group,” Quartz, January 10, 2018, https://qz.com/1177249/japans-kasotsuka-shojo-the-worlds-first-cryptopop-group-sings-about-bitcoin-and-cryptofraud. 43. Nellie

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Epilogue 1. Anna Irrera, “U.S. SEC Official Says Ether Not a Security, Price Surges,” Reuters, June 15, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cryptocurrencies-ether/u-s-sec-official-says-ether-not-a-security-price-surges-idUSKBN1JA30Q. 2. Taylor Monahan, “A New Beginning: MyCrypto.com,” Medium, February 8, 2018

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via ShapeShift API, accessed April 3, 2021, https://shapeshift.io/txstat/04d2ab5112241124b917d131c9e3858b73c1ff15c04f7330dc55d26491beadee, now at https://laurashin.com/cryptopians/Epilogue/24-04d2a. 25. Ryan Mac, “A Cryptocurrency Pioneer Wrote About Sex with a Preteen Girl on His Blog. He Says It Was Fiction,” BuzzFeed News, September 19, 2018, https://www.buzzfeednews.com

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Discovers Sex,” Coin Jazeera, accessed April 3, 2021, https://coinjazeera.news/ethereum-development-halts-after-vitalik-discovers-sex. 29. “Two Arrested for Extortion of Startup Cryptocurrency Company,” Department of Justice, US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York, September 18, 2019, https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/two-arrested

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-extortion-startup-cryptocurrency-company. 30. Dominic Kennedy and Oliver Wright, “Christopher Harborne: Brexit Party’s Bankroller Has a Thai Doppelganger,” The Times, November 27, 2019, https://www.thetimes

The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and Digital Money Are Challenging the Global Economic Order

by Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey · 27 Jan 2015 · 457pp · 128,838 words

to mitigate corruption inside those intermediating institutions as well as from the politicians who are drawn into their prosperous orbit. The public ledgers used by cryptocurrencies can bring into the open the inner workings of an economic-political system that was previously hidden within impenetrable, centralized institutions. Indeed, the technology’

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those who support the new one, but also within the ranks of the latter group, as idealists, pragmatists, entrepreneurs, and opportunists compete to control cryptocurrency’s future. When disruption is driven by a technology associated with money, these clashes can be especially intense. However, when the knives are out—metaphorically

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London, Brussels, Beijing, and various other financial and political capitals formulate rules for users of digital currencies to follow. If well designed, these could bolster cryptocurrencies by making people feel better protected from their more dangerous elements. But the bureaucrats may go too far and quash innovative start-ups’ ability to

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of Beijing. It includes visits to the mountains of Utah, the beaches of Barbados, schools in Afghanistan, and start-ups in Kenya. The world of cryptocurrencies comprises venture-capital royalty, high school dropouts, businessmen, utopians, anarchists, students, humanitarians, hackers, and Papa John’s pizza. It’s got parallels with the

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trust relationships between the individual and society at large that currency embodies. This view, the one we subscribe to and which informs our understanding of cryptocurrencies, recognizes the presence of an implicit, societywide agreement that allows monetary exchange to perpetuate and debt and credit to be issued and cleared. This

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system, governments worldwide felt compelled to put up trillions of taxpayer dollars, pounds, and euros to avoid bringing down that entire system. The rise of cryptocurrencies can properly be understood only in relation to those cataclysmic events. * * * On the Wednesday after the September 15 collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008,

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Magazine, founded by Mihai Alisie and Vitalik Buterin in 2011, began publishing a print edition in May 2012, becoming the first serious publication dedicated to cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin conferences became more common, with New York, London, and Prague featuring in the early circuit. In September 2012, the Bitcoin Foundation was founded

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banking system, which always demands its cut. * * * As the calendar progressed through 2013 a vanguard of retail businesses began to spot the advantages of cryptocurrency’s lower-cost, faster payment system and started signing up for payment-processing services offered by Silicon Valley–funded bitcoin start-ups such as BitPay

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adoption offered a compelling counterpoint to the impression of criminality, incompetence, and regulatory crackdown that had dominated mainstream press coverage in 2014. Meanwhile, innovation in cryptocurrency technology powered on. If anything, it accelerated as developers around the world became increasingly enamored with the prospect of total economic disruption and the profits

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explanation, we’re going to focus on how bitcoin’s blockchain, currency-creation, and transaction-confirmation systems work, though many blockchain variations exist across the cryptocurrency universe. James’s cup of coffee represented one transaction. The system must process many more. The blockchain is managed, as we’ve mentioned, by

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in the underlying software, have been met by consensus-driven responses fashioned to be as fair as possible. Still, the challenges are complicated. Designers of cryptocurrency projects are working at the nexus of economics (which emphasizes the creation of incentives for individual behavior that benefits the group) and technology. Computer-system

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rulebook or top-down set of managerial instructions keeps people’s choices in line with a common corporate objective. Guiding people to optimal behavior in cryptocurrencies is entirely up to how the software is designed to affect human thinking, how effectively its incentive systems encourage that desired behavior. The vulnerabilities

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—or face value—of $710 trillion. The vital thing to remember is that the collective brainpower applied to all the challenges facing bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is enormous. Under the open-source, decentralized model, these technologies are not hindered by the same constraints that bureaucracies and stodgy corporations face. The

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accounting; Byrne saw it as purely manipulative speculation, all facilitated and encouraged by Wall Street’s centralized systems for buying, selling, lending, and borrowing securities. Cryptocurrency, he believes, is a weapon to combat this because it brings willing buyers and sellers of assets together, without the brokers and investment banks acting

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information could liberate the poor from the incompetence and corruption of bureaucrats and judges. Digitized registers of real-estate deeds, all fully administered by a cryptocurrency computer network without the engagement of a central government agency, could be created to cheaply and reliably manage people’s rights to property, administering digital

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calls Bitcoin 2.0, or, our preference, Blockchain 2.0 applications—products, services, and even full-blown companies that are run autonomously by a decentralized cryptocurrency network. * * * Gleason and Voorhees were not the first people to envision alternative uses for the blockchain. If, some adventurous minds thought, two parties could

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, bypassing a central exchange or clearinghouse. Mike Hearn, who worked for three years on security software at Google before quitting to devote himself to cryptocurrency development, offers perhaps the most far-reaching forecast of such potential in blockchain technology. In a speech at the August 2013 Turing Festival in Edinburgh

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rewarded with free or discounted rides for a prescribed period, and to achieve that kind of broad-based funding objective, Hearn offers up another solution: cryptocurrency assurance contracts, a blockchain-based version of the popular crowdfunding model in which organizers pledge a certain amount when others’ donations reach target levels. Rather

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the ultimate decentralized platform. * * * Sometime before Buterin set his sights on an entirely new blockchain, another school of Blockchain 2.0 developers started taking decentralized cryptocurrency ledgers in another direction. They believed you didn’t have to completely overhaul the traditional economy of fiat currencies to slash the costs of transferring

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happy. Still, “everybody” in this sense includes one constituency that’s especially difficult to please: regulators. The lawyers who are currently acting as liaisons between cryptocurrency innovators and government regulators are struggling to get the latter to shape rules around a concept that the existing legal system never contemplated. “You think

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not easily identify them. One month after the bust, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, took a surprisingly accommodating approach to cryptocurrency. FinCEN issued guidelines treating bitcoin payment processers and exchanges as legal entities that would need to register with it and would have to comply with

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of money-transfer systems. Getting licensed was laborious, unpredictable, bureaucratic, and lengthy. Some states, such as Texas, took a deliberately accommodating stance, deciding that cryptocurrencies didn’t fall within the bounds of their rules and so could be allowed to function without a license. That led a bunch of storefronts

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government announced it would study the prospect of creating a blockchain-based digital peso and explore how the country might leverage the benefits of decentralized cryptocurrency networks to attack corruption. Though it was thin on details, this was an unprecedented statement, suggesting a forward-looking view of the blockchain’s

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processor GoCoin, which includes bitcoin’s self-proclaimed “serial dealmaker” Brock Pierce as a founder, is headquartered in the city-state. Like any reputable cryptocurrency hub, Singapore has some established bitcoin exchanges, including FYB-SG and First Meta, though the latter has come under some scrutiny following the untimely death

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that bitcoin exchanges would have to fulfill regular anti-money-laundering compliance requirements. But generally, Singapore’s government has shown itself cautiously interested in encouraging cryptocurrency innovation. According to one report, giant, state-owned conglomerate Temasek Holdings, a pillar of Singapore’s financial establishment, has been experimenting with bitcoin investments

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, we’ll explore some of these contradictions and look at what they mean for how societies grapple with the introduction of disruptive technologies such as cryptocurrency. We examine the tension it creates and the demands that the tensions be resolved through compromise and negotiation—typically through the intervention of government. * * *

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t bleed into the larger sectors that Big Business dominates. But that’s not what the proponents of this technology foresee—especially those in the cryptocurrency sector. They believe that decentralization is just getting started and that the centralized economic and political establishments—even governments and nation-states, those ultimate centralized

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banks start shutting back-office administrative centers in midtown Manhattan or London’s Canary Wharf when their merchant customers start booking more customer sales via cryptocurrency systems to avoid the 3 percent transaction fees. The challenge for technologists and their venture-capitalist backers is to frame the disruption within a politically

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people facing job displacement. For society to arrive at a happy medium where the great, liberating benefits of community empowerment are achieved through decentralized cryptocurrency applications but at minimal cost to those human beings who are displaced, all these parties will need to come together to find a negotiated solution

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—another way to say “centralizing”—forces to take control of the economy of the future, even if its underlying infrastructure is built upon decentralized cryptocurrency technology. Whereas cryptocurrency enthusiasts tend to think now of Google, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Microsoft, etc., as the centralized establishment—the enemy—it’s worth remembering that

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and via multiple blockchain-based applications, they promise to hold whole classes of middlemen, centralized institutions, and government agencies accountable as never before. Exactly how cryptocurrency technology gets to become a major part of the global financial infrastructure is the next big unknown we’ll tackle. However, a few routes are

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edge. While business adopters could be the most powerful catalysts for change, they will watch how consumers and the general public view bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies before jumping. Most consumers may never show sufficient support. Consumer-focused digital-wallet, payment-processing, and bitcoin-depository services such as Coinbase, Bitreserve, Circle

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as the dollar. Despite its public-image problem and regulatory constraints, the environment isn’t entirely unaccommodating for bitcoin to flourish. Some of the more cryptocurrency-friendly states such as Switzerland, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Canada could foster hubs of innovation that give the technology an unstoppable momentum. Even in

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our financial systems but in the background, with fiat currencies continuing as the economies’ main units of account and mediums of exchange. In that case, cryptocurrency protocols and blockchain-based systems for confirming transactions would replace the cumbersome payment system that’s currently run by banks, credit-card companies, payment processors

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, and foreign-exchange traders. Some of those intermediaries would disappear; others would simply use cryptocurrency technology for their own institution-to-institution transactions. Because of instantaneous conversion into fiat currencies after each transaction, the end-user consumers and businesses would

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reason to believe that concerns about a bitcoin-induced deflation crisis are overblown. The Multicoin World There’s no guarantee that bitcoin remains the dominant cryptocurrency. If cryptocurrencies do survive, more than one, or many, could end up playing an important role in commerce. Given that the blockchain will allow anybody to

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unpredictable ways. Society at large will play a role, too, partly because of the disruptive impact that technology is having on people’s lives. Cryptocurrency is a potentially powerful new disruptive element. Interconnected computing gadgets give people far greater control over their daily lives, creating opportunities to discover new ideas

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’ve ever had. Whatever you want to call this new economy—the sharing economy, the collaborative economy—it is upending centuries of accepted social norms. Cryptocurrency, a pure form of information technology, a deliberately, explicitly disruptive form of information technology, promises to take things to a new level altogether. The

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/bitbeat-much-good-dogecoin-so-hip/. though with bitcoin’s market capitalization more than ten times: as per the market capitalizations of the top 100 cryptocurrencies quoted at coinmarketcap.com. Andreas Antonopoulos, chief security officer at wallet provider Blockchain.info: Paul Vigna, “BitBeat: Dorian Nakamoto Writes a Letter,” Wall Street

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and debit cards American Express fraud and MasterCard Visa Credit Suisse First Boston Crook, Colin Cross River Bank Crowd Companies crowdfunding “Crypto-Anarchist Manifesto” (May) cryptocurrencies: future of labeling of ledger and mainstreaming of mining of regulation of roots of trust and value of see also bitcoin cryptographers Cypherpunks political differences

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Ulbricht, Ross Ultimate Frisbee unbanked people Unenumerated Unfair Trade, The (Casey) UnionPay Union Square Partners United Kingdom Utah utilities value: of bitcoins of coins of cryptocurrencies of dollar of gold intrinsic of money van der Laan, Wladimir Vaurum venture capitalists (VCs) Ver, Roger Verisign Verizon Vessenes, Peter VHS Virgin Group VirtEx

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Premium Sales Department by writing to MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com. The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows: Vigna, Paul. The age of cryptocurrency: how bitcoin and digital money are challenging the global economic order / Paul Vigna, Michael J. Casey.—First Edition. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-250

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’t quite the anonymous haven that Nakamoto and some underground businesses thought it would be. * This approach has been followed by designers of special cryptocurrency projects intended to develop applications for decentralized commerce beyond merely currency payments. The coin sale proceeds are used to pay for the developers needed to

Kings of Crypto: One Startup's Quest to Take Cryptocurrency Out of Silicon Valley and Onto Wall Street

by Jeff John Roberts · 15 Dec 2020 · 226pp · 65,516 words

subject to change. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Roberts, Jeff John, author. Title: Kings of crypto : one startup’s quest to take cryptocurrency out of Silicon Valley and onto Wall Street / Jeff John Roberts. Description: Boston, MA : Harvard Business Review Press, [2020] | Includes index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020036284 (print

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on my earlier work and also conducted numerous additional interviews with Coinbase executives and board members. I also interviewed many other influential figures in the cryptocurrency world, including academics, investors, and those close to Coinbase’s competitors. Most of the accounts in this book, including nearly all of the quotes attributed

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a company to manage their stash of digital gold. A heresy in the church of Satoshi. And so it was that even though Coinbase introduced cryptocurrency to millions of non-technical people, many of bitcoin’s early champions reviled the company. These included the radical libertarian Erik Voorhees, who had denounced

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, delivering an impromptu lecture on the work of political economist Albert Hirschman. A scrawny teenager named Vitalik Buterin, who would soon invent the most important cryptocurrency after bitcoin, also spent days puttering around the Coinbase office. Not all visitors to Bluxome Street were so welcome. On several occasions, irate Coinbase customers

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a sort of crypto chamber of commerce, pushing to bestow an air of respectability on Satoshi’s creation. It was not just bitcoin flourishing. Other cryptocurrencies had emerged with fan bases of their own and, like bitcoin, could be exchanged for real-world money. These included Litecoin, the offshoot of bitcoin

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Nakamoto across the freeways of LA. The ensuing restaurant sit-down with Nakamoto revealed the purported crypto creator did not know the first thing about cryptocurrency. The next day, a long-dormant message board account tied to the real Satoshi sent out a simple message: “I am not Dorian Nakamoto.”

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deck to the press. Conservative media outlet The Washington Free Beacon published the presentation in February under a blaring headline of how Coinbase was touting cryptocurrency as a tool to circumvent sanctions on Iran. With a single bullet point, Fred had jerked Coinbase into geopolitics. Silicon Valley Bank had seen

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The long-awaited rebound in bitcoin’s prices, which continued into early 2016, brought delighted relief to Coinbase. But outside, in the broader world of cryptocurrency, something ugly was brewing as the tribal factions who were the bedrock of bitcoin turned on each other—and on Brian—like never before. The

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days. After his expulsion, Hearn described the situation as open civil war. Laura Shin, a Forbes journalist who would go on to build an influential cryptocurrency podcasting series, wrote of the 2016 war over block size: “Bitcoin Twitter has been a toxic stew of name-calling, trolling, bullying, blocking and

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preferred the hurly-burly of Reddit and Hacker News, sites that encouraged vis-itors to share headlines and yammer on about their favorite topics, including cryptocurrency. Since the start of Coinbase, Brian and Fred had been eager participants in these debates—explaining and defending the company’s decisions and chatting with

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at Facebook. McGeenan, known at Coinbase as Magoo, served as a bodyguard for Brian and also kept watch over the online threats. The nature of cryptocurrency meant the entire community was rife with criminals and, as bitcoin grew, so did criminal enterprises within its world. Stories of robbery and kidnapping became

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a special advantage over bitcoin. It had an acknowledged leader in the form of its wunderkind creator who would become the most famous figure in cryptocurrency after Satoshi. PART TWO * * * From Boom to Bubble to Bust 7 Enter Ethereum Vitalik Buterin is soft-spoken, pale, and practically skeletal. He likes to

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wore mismatched Hello Kitty socks and ate lemons, including the rinds. At the urging of his libertarian father, Dmitry, he took an interest in the cryptocurrency called bitcoin. He soon became absorbed. While still in high school, he launched an online news site called Bitcoin Magazine as a side hustle, persuading

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never succeeded—they had robbed exchanges and individual crypto owners but had never found a way to tamper with bitcoin’s all-important ledger. Other cryptocurrencies had been hacked and hijacked. Ethereum wasn’t only hacked, but its ledger was tampered with on purpose. What’s more, buying and selling

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funds, pension funds, private equity firms, family offices. Even in 2016, seven years after bitcoin launched, very little of that capital had flowed into the cryptocurrency economy. Sure, crypto was flourishing in the contained community of advocates and believers, but Brian and others believed that a true breakout would arrive only

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on price swings. And the action wasn’t just in bitcoin and Ethereum. On loosely regulated overseas exchanges, traders speculated on a galaxy of other cryptocurrencies that began to double and triple in price. Litecoin fans, for instance, likened the currency to bitcoin’s little brother and pointed out that its

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or manipulated by unscrupulous insiders. For many traders, it didn’t matter. A bull market was barreling forward as the price of every type of cryptocurrency kept climbing. Business schools took notice, finally. Only a few years earlier, Coinbase’s Adam White had pleaded with his professors at Harvard Business School

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of the Bitcoin Era.” By 2016, outlets like Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal assigned business reporters to cover crypto. Books like The Age of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Revolution further increased the ledger technology’s credibility. The transformation wasn’t instant. Bitcoin’s outlaw origins kept poking through. Hedge funds and

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different. It was broader and more ambitious. Unsubtly titled “The Coinbase Secret Master Plan,” it set out Brian’s sweeping vision for the future of cryptocurrency. Crypto was like the internet, he explained and, like the internet, it would have a four-step development. The initial two steps, which would

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the white knight’s decision to comply with “know your customer” laws had made it easy pickings for the IRS’s first major investigation into cryptocurrency—even as the more renegade exchanges, which operated in secrecy and skirted banking laws, avoided scrutiny. Utzke’s investigation produced a subpoena that landed at

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, hoped thoughtful, careful regulation could bring stability to the crypto markets and help it become even more mainstream. Unfortunately, the emerging US regulatory regime for cryptocurrency was not providing stability, but instead wrapping it in red tape. Multiple agencies were still arguing over whether this stuff was money or property or

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investigation. Today, its millions of tokens are worth nothing. The thousands of people who bought Bitconnect tokens, which briefly sat as the twentieth-most-popular cryptocurrency, lost every dollar. The only remaining value is Matos’s “Bitcooooonnnnnect!” yodel, which became an internet meme and fodder for Last Week Tonight, John Oliver

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were giving away bitcoin and Ethereum in special promotions. To receive the windfall, the targeted Twitter user was told to send a small amount of cryptocurrency first—funds that would, of course, be promptly pocketed by the scammer. Twitter would eventually shut down the impersonator accounts, and the scammers would

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prices climbed and climbed, Brian published a blog post in early December titled “Please Invest Responsibly” that dryly warned customers of the volatility associated with cryptocurrency investing. The market paid no heed whatsoever. Prices kept climbing. Brian’s call for responsible crypto investing wasn’t just ineffective—it was hypocritical. Coinbase

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millionaires—some of them were billionaires—had another priority: creating “Puertopia.” This was to be a new type of city where people paid only with cryptocurrency and laws were written on a blockchain. For the new arrivals, Puertopia invoked a paradise. For everyone else, it meant “crypto bros looking for

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as well. In the show Billions, the main character Bobby Axelrod, who is reportedly based on real-life hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen, turns to cryptocurrency to thwart SEC trading restrictions. “One million dollars straight in crypto, in chilly storage,” Bobby says, proffering a USB storage device to a minion.

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and offer only crypto-to-crypto trades. This meant customers could swap bitcoin for Ethereum, or Ethereum for Litecoin, or Litecoin for dozens of other cryptocurrencies. For CZ, the crypto-to-crypto arrangement offered an obvious advantage: it meant Binance didn’t need to touch the conventional banking system, which was

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Coinbase to split into two legal entities—one that did business in heavily regulated places like the United States and another that offered dozens of cryptocurrencies while operating from a regulatory haven like Bermuda. The plan went nowhere, and well into 2018, Coinbase stumbled along with the same four currencies.

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Coinbase compete with Binance by adding new assets. For months, the company had dithered as Binance grew into a powerhouse by offering dozens of new cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, Coinbase had plodded along with the same four coins: bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and—as of late December 2017, after its hiccup of a

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questioned why Coinbase was tinkering with Toshi and dApps—especially at a time when millions of people were flocking to Binance to acquire the newest cryptocurrencies. It was as if Coinbase had been a road construction company that instead of laying pavement for interstate highways spent its days adding scenic overlooks

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that signs an endorsement deal with Brooks Brothers. More seriously, it risked a strategic muddle, given Balaji’s quest to challenge Binance by adding exotic cryptocurrencies to Coinbase’s platform. It didn’t take long for the competing visions—Wall Street versus libertarian utopia—to produce factions at Coinbase, with crypto

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of Balaji’s wrecking-ball approach was that the secondary projects got sidelined or smothered, and Coinbase moved to focus on his priority—adding new cryptocurrencies. Coinbase unveiled new currency offerings like XRP and Ethereum Classic for US customers, and dozens more for clients overseas. The gap with Binance started

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2019. The best known one, called Tether, had appeared in 2015. It caught on with traders who wanted to move in and out of various cryptocurrencies without the fees that came with converting from crypto to traditional currency. Tether, however, suffered from a sketchy reputation. How, traders wondered, could they

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challenged Tether as fixtures of crypto trading markets. By 2020, Coinbase and others were paying interest on customers’ stash of stablecoins—a sign of how cryptocurrency could resemble an ordinary savings account. More importantly, the growth of stablecoins signaled to important people outside the crypto world that blockchain-based money could

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, and to contribute to the reserve fund that would back the Libra with hard currency. The partner list included two companies that specialized in storing cryptocurrency, and it also included Coinbase. There already was a link between Facebook and Coinbase: the head of Project Libra was David Marcus, a former

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army, this would be only slightly more hostile to the people of the United States than what is currently proposed,” declared Preston Byrne, an outspoken cryptocurrency lawyer. Critics raised many valid questions, and, as of the time of this writing, it’s far from clear whether Facebook can overcome government opposition

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may have greeted Facebook’s digital currency plans with surprise and alarm, but in crypto circles, Project Libra mostly generated guffaws. This wasn’t real cryptocurrency but a debased version, one that would be controlled by a cabal of powerful companies. Veteran crypto boosters invoked the c-word—centralized—and warned

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business front, the company was still lagging behind Binance, but the gap between the two was shrinking, in part because Coinbase now offered dozens of cryptocurrencies in markets around the world. Meanwhile, Binance’s star lost some of its luster after the exchange suffered a major hack that saw thieves plunder

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Quorum, a spin-off of Ethereum that serves as a private network and ledger for financial transactions. He had even approved JPM Coin, a new cryptocurrency to settle crossborder payments with clients. At the same time JP Morgan was dabbling with crypto, Coinbase was moving closer to traditional banking. The one

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and Apple too—could just as easily dominate crypto. Then there are national governments. Authoritarian regimes like China or Venezuela, Tapscott points out, are developing cryptocurrencies. Their strategic goals involve not only undermining the US dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency but using crypto to surveil and control

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mythology as it is by technology. The Nobel Prize–winning economist Robert Shiller’s latest book, Narrative Economics, devotes its first chapter to bitcoin. The cryptocurrency, Shiller says, has no intrinsic value but has been propped up by a contagious belief that it does. Academics like Shiller who are deeply skeptical

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years, much like the internet, is likely to awe us in ways no one can predict.” Index Accenture, 140 addresses, blockchain, 19–20 Age of Cryptocurrency, The (Vigna and Casey), 23 Airbnb, 3, 5 Alford, Gary, 122 algorithms, in financial trading, 11–12 AlphaBay, 107–108 Alphabet, 64 altcoins, 138

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others who have taken the time to help me understand the splendid technology called blockchain. Despite its well-deserved reputation for drama and infighting, the cryptocurrency community is also incredibly supportive, and I want to thank those who offered me advice and encouragement during the writing of this book: Laura Shin

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to Coinbase’s communications team for arranging many interviews. Likewise, I want to thank Barry Silbert, Chris Dixon, Emin Gün Sirer, and the numerous other cryptocurrency theorists and entrepreneurs who helped supply the larger ideas that inform this book. I could not have written Kings of Crypto without the support of

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my employer, Fortune magazine, which not only provided me time to write but also gave me free rein to report and write about cryptocurrency, even when the topics roamed far beyond those familiar to the publication’s regular business audience. My appreciation extends in particular to Fortune CEO Alan

Mastering Blockchain: Unlocking the Power of Cryptocurrencies and Smart Contracts

by Lorne Lantz and Daniel Cawrey · 8 Dec 2020 · 434pp · 77,974 words

Altchains Bitcoin Improvement Proposals Understanding Forks Contentious Hard Forks The Bitcoin Cash Fork Altcoins Litecoin More Altcoin Experiments “2.0” Chains NXT Counterparty Privacy-Focused Cryptocurrencies Dash Monero Zcash Ripple and Stellar Ripple Stellar Scaling Blockchains SegWit Lightning Other Altchain Solutions The Ethereum Classic Fork Summary 4. The Evolution to Ethereum

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quick, highly detailed, and accurate technical overview of the blockchain sector. Moe Adham, CEO, Bitcoin ATM provider Bitaccess Mastering Blockchain Unlocking the Power of Cryptocurrencies, Smart Contracts, and Decentralized Applications Lorne Lantz and Daniel Cawrey Mastering Blockchain by Lorne Lantz and Daniel Cawrey Copyright © 2021 Lorne Lantz and Daniel Cawrey

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Bitcoin) and MetaMask (Ethereum). Pros User controls keys Can be used mostly offline for better security Cons No one desktop wallet is best for all cryptocurrencies Desktop security must be maintained by the user A mobile wallet is an app-based wallet, found in the app stores for Android or iOS

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is used in more private implementations of blockchain. Stakeholders In addition to a protocol network, wallets, and miners, there are other stakeholders in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. These may be centralized services or for-profit businesses, and they provide important functionality needed in the ecosystem. There are five categories of stakeholders

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privacy chains available today. Research has proven that in some instances, using hashes can compromise privacy in cryptographic systems. These systems could include blockchain-based cryptocurrencies, since they use hashes on a publicly viewable ledger. Zcash uses a technology called Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Arguments of Knowledge (zk-SNARKs)

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Ethereum. Improving Bitcoin’s Limited Functionality Bitcoin was the first decentralized consensus protocol to apply the concept of scripted money—that is, the idea that cryptocurrency transactions could transmit funds depending on the true/false status of running a limited program. Initially, many saw bitcoin as “programmable money,” but scripted

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platform coupled with the ability to create tokens on top of the Ethereum blockchain made it an ideal automated fundraising apparatus for jump-starting various cryptocurrency projects. Decentralized Autonomous Organizations In an effort to further the ethos of decentralization in the Ethereum ecosystem, the concept of a decentralized autonomous organization

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Buterin began emailing around a whitepaper proposing a new protocol based on elements of Bitcoin, Mastercoin, and other projects. This document was disseminated throughout the cryptocurrency community, and developers and backers began to accumulate. Buterin made a public announcement of the Ethereum project in February 2014. A Swiss-based nonprofit

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executes the transaction using the details that were submitted in step 1. This confirmTransaction call occurs in block #7458500. Decentralized Exchange Contracts Before Ethereum, every cryptocurrency exchange had to be controlled and managed by a company—a centralized authority. Centralized exchanges still exist, with popular examples including Coinbase, Bitstamp, and

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operate in different jurisdictions and therefore must comply with different levels of regulatory oversight. Figure 6-5 illustrates. Figure 6-5. Four types of cryptocurrency exchanges Cryptocurrency exchanges are bound by the laws of the jurisdictions they operate in. Figure 6-5 shows four categories that exchanges may fall into: International exchanges

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Here are a few of the most well-known data sources: CoinDesk Skew Glassnode TradingView Each offers different datasets and tools. There are also specialized cryptocurrency information sources that it’s good to know about, such as block explorers and transaction flow tracking systems. Block explorers A block explorer enables the

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or wallet) is completed. Transaction flows The ability to track transaction flows on the blockchain can help when analyzing trading patterns. Tracking the movement of cryptocurrency can be much easier than tracking fiat currency. This is especially true when transfers are happening between wallets, exchanges, and other services because these

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diminishing its purchasing power and store of value properties. Minting is algorithmically fixed, or relegated to authorities within a system. Burning Used to decrease a cryptocurrency supply, burning involves the destruction of assets. This destruction is done by system authorities. By reducing circulation and lessening supply, this can cause the price

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system with accounts and payments built in. However, some organizations don’t particularly see the benefit of this. Permissionless systems need accounts, payments, and cryptocurrencies to properly incentivize users, but that may not necessarily be the case for permissioned ledgers. In the permissioned world, providing infrastructure for payments and accounts

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instead of centralized rent-seeking (e.g., targeted advertising on social networks or taking a fee like online marketplaces do). Decentralization Versus Centralization Early cryptocurrency proponents embraced decentralization as a core part of the technology. However, many other blockchain platforms—particularly those being developed for organizations—are much more centralized

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were on the longest chain. At each fork, the new “longest chain” must contain all these checkpoints. Ethereum-Based Privacy Implementations Public blockchains and cryptocurrency networks don’t make good implementations for businesses. This is because many organizations need to keep control of their information for competitive reasons, compliance, or

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Monero, How Monero Works whitelisting, Counterparty Risk adjustable blocksize cap (Bitcoin), The Bitcoin Cash Fork adoption of blockchain, The Future of Blockchain airdrops, disbursement of cryptocurrencies via, Airdrops airgapped computers, Counterparty Risk altchains, Understanding Forks altcoins, Understanding Forks, Altcoins-Counterpartyearlier, sample of, Altcoins Litecoin, Litecoin other, More Altcoin Experiments Amazon

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Quantum Ledger, Blockchain as a Service analysis, Analysis-Hunting for Bartanalytics services for cryptocurrency blockchains, Analytics fundamental cryptocurrency analysis, Fundamental Cryptocurrency Analysis-Tools for fundamental analysistools for, Tools for fundamental analysis Tullip Mania or the internet, Tulip Mania or the internet? technical

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for Consensus Byzantine fault-tolerant agreement, RippleHotStuff algorithm, Borrowing from Existing Blockchains C Cardano, Blockchains to Watch Casper algorithm (proof-of-stake), Ethereum Scaling CCXT (CryptoCurrency eXchange Trading Library), Open Source Trading Tech cell phone porting attacks, Security Fundamentals central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), Central Bank Digital Currencies centralizationcaused by proof

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, Analytics channels (Lightning), Lightning Chaum, David, DigiCash Chia, Alternative methods Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), partnership with Royal Mint, The Royal Mint China, central bank cryptocurrency, China Coburn, Zachary, Skirting the Laws Coin ATM Radar website, Evolution of the Price of Bitcoin Coinbase, Wallet Types: Custodial Versus Noncustodial, Custody Coinbase Pro

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communication complexity, Other Altchain Solutions crypto laundering, The Evolution of Crypto Laundering-The Evolution of Crypto Launderinghow funds are laundered, The Evolution of Crypto Laundering cryptocurrencies, Cryptocurrency Fundamentals-Summaryadditional, Mastercoin introducing notion of, Mastercoin and Smart Contracts backing DAI multi-collateral token, DAI and blockchain, leading to new platforms for the web

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attacks on passwords, Zero-Knowledge Proof difficulty of discovering valid block hash, Block discovery DigiCash, DigiCash digital bonds, Banking digital money, Bitcoin Predecessors(see also cryptocurrencies) creation of, in B-Money, B-Money use of hashing to limit double spend, Hashcash digital signaturesmultisignature system, Hash Time Locked Contracts, Lightning Schnorr

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decentralized version of, Altcoins dot-com crash, Tulip Mania or the internet? double spend problem, Hashcashin Satoshi Nakamoto's whitepaper, The Whitepaper dumping of a cryptocurrency, Wash Trading E E-gold, E-Gold EEA (Enterprise Ethereum Alliance), The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance Elements open source project, Liquid Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm

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(ECDSA) encrytionsecp256k1 function, Public and Private Keys in Cryptocurrency Systems signing and validating transactions with, Signing and Validating Transactions Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) secp256k1 function, Generating keys Enigma, Skirting the Laws, Privacy

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Electronic Systems and Trust IT systems, permissioned ledger uses, IT Ixcoin, Altcoins J Java, Corda language JPMorgan, JPMorganinterbank payments using permissioned ledger, Payments jurisdiction over cryptocurrency exchanges, Jurisdiction K Keccak-256 hash algorithm, Hashes Know Your Customer (KYC) rules, Banking Risk, DAIon centralized and decentralized exchanges, Know your customer crypto laundering

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Verifiable Ledgers Hyperledger Fabric technology, Hyperledger permissioned ledger uses of blockchain, Permissioned Ledger Uses-Payments Ripple, Ripple legal industry, permissioned ledger uses, Legal legal requirements, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology skirting the laws, Skirting the Laws lending services (DeFi), Lending less than 5% rule, Counterparty Risk Libra, Libra-Summaryborrowing from existing blockchains

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Price of Bitcoin whales, Whales market size, Order Books Mastercoin, Mastercoin and Smart Contracts, Tokenize EverythingEthereum and, Ethereum: Taking Mastercoin to the Next Level raising cryptocurrency funds to launch a project, Use Cases: ICOs Meetup.com, Information mempool, unconfirmed transactions on Bitcoin, Transaction life cycle Merkelized Abstract Syntax Trees (MAST),

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Laundering paired with scalability, Mimblewimble blockchain protocol, Mimblewimble, Beam, and Grin privacy-focused blockchains, PrivacyMonero, Blockchains to Watch-How Monero Works Zcash, Zcash privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, Privacy-Focused CryptocurrenciesDash, Dash Monero, Monero Zcash, Zcash private blockchain networks, Privacy private blockchains, The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance private keys, Public/private key cryptography(see

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tokens on a blockchain, Tokens on the Ethereum Platform recovery seed, Recovery Seed recursive call vulnerability, Forking Ethereum and the creation of Ethereum Classic regulationof cryptocurrency exchanges, Jurisdiction FATF and the Travel Rule, The FATF and the Travel Rule FinCEN guidance and beginnings of, FinCEN Guidance and the Beginning of

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Regulation-FinCEN Guidance and the Beginning of Regulation regulatory challenges in cryptocurrency market, Regulatory Challenges-Basic Mistakes regulatory issues with ICOs, Tokenize Everything regulatory arbitrage, Avoiding Scrutiny: Regulatory Arbitrage-Crypto-Based StablecoinsICOs as example of, Initial

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on Bitcoin, An Early Vulnerability exchanges taking care of private keys, Counterparty Risk flash loans exploiting vulnerabilities in DeFi platforms, The Fulcrum Exploit fundamentals for cryptocurrencies, Security Fundamentals-Recovery Seed identity and dangers of hacking, Identity and the Dangers of Hacking information security in decentralizing finance and the web, Privacy

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push and pull transactions, ERC-777 third-party auditors of, Fungible and Nonfungible Tokens Uniswap contract viewable on Ethereum, Infrastructure social media, campaigns to influence cryptocurrencies, Tools for fundamental analysis soft forks, Understanding Forks software development, changes from use of cryptcurrency and blockchain, Web 3.0 software forks, Understanding Forks

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software wallets, Wallets Solidcoin, Altcoins Solidity language, Authoring a smart contract South Korean exchanges, Regulatory Challenges speculation in cryptocurrency, Market Infrastructure, Tulip Mania or the internet? spoofing, Wash Trading spot exchanges, The Role of Exchanges Square’s Cash App, Brokerages stablecoins, Stablecoins-KYC

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problems with, Crypto-Based Stablecoins-TetherBasis, Basis Digix, Digix NuBits, NuBits Tether (USDT), Tether TrueUSD, TrueUSD USDC, USDC use by unregulated exchanges, Jurisdiction stakeholders in cryptocurrency ecosystem, Stakeholders-Informationanalytics services, Analytics brokerages, Brokerages custody solutions, Custody exchanges, Exchanges information services, Information STARKs, STARKs state channels, Other Altchain Solutions stealth addresses (Monero

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decentralized exchanges, Decentralized Exchange Contracts Tether use case for tokenization, Tether token economics in ICOs, Token Economics tokenizing everything, Tokenize Everything use to create new cryptocurrencies on blockchain protocols, Understanding Omni Layer Torcoin, Alternative methods trading bots and exchange APIs, Exchange APIs and Trading Bots-Market Aggregators trading technology, open

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to overcome, Storing Data in a Chain of Blocks intermediary, Electronic Systems and Trust issuance, Electronic Systems and Trust trustless sidechains, Sidechains Tulip Mania, Fundamental Cryptocurrency Analysis 2.0 chains, “2.0” Chains two-factor authentication, Security Fundamentals U Ulbricht, Ross, Catch Me If You Can unconfirmed/mempool (transactions on

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on Ethereum, Infrastructure token listing on, Token listing Unobtainium, More Altcoin Experiments unspent transaction output (see UTXO model) US agencies and regulatory bodies regulating cryptocurrencies, FinCEN Guidance and the Beginning of Regulation US Dollar Coin (USDC), USDC US Federal Reserveblockchain implementation, US Federal Reserve raising interest rates to control housing

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asset service providers (VASPs), requirement to provide user data on transactions, The FATF and the Travel Rule VmWare blockchain, Blockchain as a Service volatility of cryptocurrencies, Fungible and Nonfungible TokensMaker creating stable asset from volatile markets, DAI Voorhees, Erik, Skirting the Laws voting-based consensus, Alternative methods W wallets, Wallet

The Bitcoin Guidebook: How to Obtain, Invest, and Spend the World's First Decentralized Cryptocurrency

by Ian Demartino · 2 Feb 2016 · 296pp · 86,610 words

, you can do so with the following QR code: Bitcoin Address: 3Bi1fhng5LfoDzue5MTfGw9PgHNKKgRkVt Disclaimer: Although I have attempted to make this book as accurate as possible, cryptocurrencies are complex and constantly evolving. So it is worth mentioning right off the bat: do your own research—things can change from month to month

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have been produced as well. ASIC: Application-specific integrated circuit. A piece of hardware designed to do one thing and one thing only. In the cryptocurrency world, it mines for a specific algorithm (SHA256, Scrypt, etc.). BFGMiner: The second most-popular Bitcoin-mining software. Bitcoin/bitcoin: Bitcoin with a capital B

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blockchain confirmed as valid. This is called a 51% attack. fork: Copying an open-source code and making modifications to it. In the context of cryptocurrencies it can also mean when miners either accidentally or maliciously start mining a false blockchain. full node: A local Bitcoin wallet that stores the entire

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-source code for collaborative work on that code. GUIMiner: The most popular Bitcoin-mining software with a graphical user interface. hard fork: Changes to a cryptocurrency’s code that requires participants to upgrade their software in order to be able to continue functioning with the upgraded clients. If the majority of

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of hashes being put toward a network. The total number of hashes equals the number of computational equations taking place on the Bitcoin (or other cryptocurrency) network. 1/THs hashrate means the network is capable of one trillion calculations per second. hot wallet: A wallet connected to the Internet. Bitcoins are

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was already apparent that smaller vendors would remain a force on the Internet, especially through rapidly growing services like eBay. There were a few other cryptocurrency attempts, however, the most prominent of which was E-gold. E-gold was a digital currency backed by—you guessed it—gold. The company held

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operate while only taking a one to five percent fee from the borrowers. This removal of friction enables more investments and more payments. Another service cryptocurrencies can theoretically provide is the role of arbitrator in any transaction. BitHalo, the Bitcoin half of BlackHalo, was the first instance of workable smart contracts

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legal force. Smart contracts enable the sale of physical goods without either party needing to trust the other. BlackHalo was designed for Blackcoin, an alternative cryptocurrency that I will discuss in Chapter 21. BitHalo has the same functionality but works with Bitcoin. It enables quick transfers between the two currencies. More

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potential to bring advanced banking abilities to users around the world. Bitcoin 2.0 projects, as they are often called, can involve Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. The main idea behind these projects is that the blockchain and blockchain technologies can be used to transfer and keep track of holdings of valuables

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. “Kim Dotcom’s Blockchain MegaNet and Bitcoin ATMs Stolen.” International Business Times RSS. February 17, 2015. Accessed May 20, 2015. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/cryptocurrency-round-kim-dotcoms-blockchain-meganet-bitcoin-atms-stolen-1488393. Chapter 6: Bitcoin: Anonymous or Pseudonymous? There’s going to be so much information about individuals

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, regardless of whether the people who participated in the transaction want them to be or not. It is not unreasonable to expect that in a cryptocurrency-powered future, political candidates will have their Bitcoin history pored over by their opponents and media sleuths. The blockchain is not the only place they

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, there are plenty of users with other belief systems and affiliations. Likewise, the vast majority of libertarians aren’t as radical as some in the cryptocurrency community. But there is also a sect of cryptolibertarian believers who do have a set of consistent and clear principles that generally pushes their software

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the end. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia called for an outright ban on Bitcoin.14 Even the long-time Bitcoin blogger, security researcher, and cryptocurrency evangelist twobitidiot (real name Ryan Selkis) lamented “Bitcoin’s Apocalyptic moment” upon learning the news.15 The concerns, it should be said, were valid. One

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who want to save and spend bitcoins. Although nothing is guaranteed in Bitcoin, these Mt. Gox-like events are becoming more rare; although popular multi-cryptocurrency exchanges still have controversies and issues, the Bitcoin-only exchanges—Circle, Coinbase, etc.—are relatively safe for small-to-medium Bitcoin holdings. Long-term savings

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a password and a special one-time use code) is a must. • Scams that work on the Internet in general have been carried over to cryptocurrencies as well, sometimes with a bit more sophistication. Phishing scams are common and the thieves have proven capable of spoofing legitimate Bitcoin companies’ email addresses

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large number of supported currencies and a professional look. Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving. The MintPal scandal is as convoluted as any other scam in cryptocurrency history, including the Mt. Gox failure. Almost tailor-made for the big screen, it involves fake identities, corporate takeovers, and a cliffhanger. MintPal’s problems

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VeriCoins. VeriCoin uses a proof-of-stake algorithm to confirm transactions. Proof-of-stake algorithms give weight to those who have significant holdings of the cryptocurrency, resulting in a somewhat stable interest rate—typically anywhere between one and five percent, depending on the coin. Unlike proof-of-work coins such as

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of this writing.2 One significant lesson to learn from the MintPal failure is that appearances aren’t indicative of legitimacy. Of the mainstream multi-cryptocurrency exchanges, MintPal had one of the prettier website layouts. I remember at one point commenting to a friend that MintPal had, in my opinion, the

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Miners and its sister company, ZEN Miners, were owned by a man named Homero Joshua Garza, who went by Josh Garza. Garza had gotten into cryptocurrency after running a broadband Internet company that was accused of ripping off its customers before abandoning them; it is currently under investigation.4 GAW Miners

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claiming to mine. The majority of mining payments, according to the SEC, were paid out with new investor money.7 Although many media outlets, particularly cryptocurrency-focused ones, did an adequate job reporting on GAW after the initial sale of Paycoin in December 2014, much of the initial investigation was done

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being ironed out. Issues with Working for Bitcoin Smart contracts—computer protocols that ensure a contract is followed—have been developed for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and are getting more powerful all the time. Escrow is very useful because it gives the worker a third party to depend on to fulfill

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a flurry of controversies. There have also been complaints about these two remaining companies, however. As is my general advice in all matters related to cryptocurrency, do your research before investing significant amounts of money. Before buying any hardware, it’s essential to check a Bitcoin-mining difficulty calculator to figure

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not with the general sentiment behind his statement. Two years is not realistic; although that amount of time might seem like an eternity within the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the general public—and especially the financial markets—don’t move at the same speed. But Bitcoin is growing; this is undeniable. It also

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virtual bag of a worthless coin. Again, such tactics affect all commodities with a low enough liquidity. It just so happens that there are many cryptocurrencies that have low liquidity compared to more traditional commodities. And since the space is virtually unregulated, pump-and-dumps have become commonplace. The groups that

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most headway in accomplishing this goal. It uses “trusted gateways” to allow users to buy commodities such as gold, as well as various currencies—both cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies. Trusted gateways are entities, like precious metal investment companies, that can be trusted to honor assets they put on the Ripple network

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the Ripple network, assuming you trust the gateway. But Ripple has always been careful not to step on any regulation toes. More centralized than other cryptocurrencies, Ripple Labs could feasibly be held responsible for additions to the Ripple network. In fact, it ran afoul of regulations once already, though it settled

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probably will happen someday soon, either via Ripple or another altcoin, or Bitcoin itself. Non–Wall Street markets are becoming more popular every year. Eventually, cryptocurrencies could create a fully peer-to-peer stock market without any kind of middleman outside of code and cryptography. In that kind of system, people

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. In addition, Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne, a longtime Bitcoin advocate, is currently working on a marketplace that will challenge Wall Street. Unlike many other cryptocurrency “stock market” projects, Overstock is actually going through the proper channels to stay on the right side of regulation. At first, Overstock will only offer

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crowdfunding campaign and raised more than $9 million without being open to US customers.1 But those are the fiat world’s solutions. In the cryptocurrency world, there is a far more direct method of funding businesses: asset tokens distributed on the blockchain. Asset tokens are tokens that represent ownership of

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“more than zero” value. After the article was released, Ars Technica readers became interested in Arscoin and the media outlet suddenly had a fairly successful cryptocurrency on its hands. It launched a store where readers could spend their Arscoins. The store only sold flair—little images of decorative hats that would

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Block Reward (current): 25 LTC Reward Curve: Halves every 840,000 blocks Total Number of LTC: 84 million Litecoin is arguably the second most popular cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, judging by its level of acceptance and brand recognition. Created by Charlie Lee, it is technically a fork of the first Scrypt coin

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(current): 10k Doge Reward Curve: Halves every 840,000 blocks Total Number of Doge: 100 billion [goal, variable] If Litecoin is the most popular serious cryptocurrency, Dogecoin—pronounced either “Doggy Coin” or “Douje-Coin” depending on whom you ask—is the most “viral.” Originally intended as a joke, Dogecoin ended up

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Darkcoin, but the creators decided to rebrand in an attempt to distance themselves from potential perceptions of a criminal connection. Dash is a privacy-minded cryptocurrency that intends to make the final jump from the pseudonymous nature of Bitcoin to the anonymous promise of electronic cash. Dash attempts to do this

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is a fun place for high-risk investments. Some features haven’t been as successful. Its monetary system, for instance, is full of shovelwear cryptocurrencies—i.e., cryptocurrencies that bring no new features or value—that serve no purpose and are being bought by virtually no one. Likewise, its digital goods store

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that plagued its launch and to indicate the project was turning over a new leaf. Mastercoin/Omni was hired by Overstock.com to create a cryptocurrency-powered asset exchange but Overstock eventually decided to continue on with the project without the help of the Mastercoin/Omni developers.8 There are, however

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Time: 10 minutes Difficulty Re-target: 2016 blocks Block Reward (current): 25 NMC Total Supply: 21 million Namecoin was the first “Bitcoin 2.0” or “Cryptocurrency 2.0” project. It was released in April 2011 and was a novel solution to domain registration centralization and censorship issues that some on the

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I am merely an outside observer. Even copycat coins are prevented from scooping up .bit addresses, so Namecoin is in the extremely rare position among cryptocurrencies of being open source but also protected from being directly copied by a lesser coin. Someone else could make a similar uncensorable Internet, but they

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anywhere anytime soon. Blackcoin has its own version of proof-of-stake (dubbed “Proof-of-Stake 3.0”) that depends less on coinage than other cryptocurrencies and which aims to secure the network. Blackcoin’s developers are also reportedly working on further improvements to the proof-of-stake method of securing

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Block Time: Around 20 seconds Block Reward: 5 Ether per block Maximum Blocksize: 1MB Total Number: No limit I conclude with perhaps the most exciting cryptocurrency since Bitcoin. Ethereum is more than a coin, describing itself thus: “Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as

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then communities and developers alike can become discouraged. I think the most important and interesting innovations to come from the altcoin space—both actual alternative cryptocurrencies and “coins” built on top of Bitcoin—will come from communities that realize chasing the price is a fruitless endeavor. I talked earlier about Arscoin

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be. I believe more niche economies such as LTBCoin will spring up over time. Shortly before this book was finished, Uphold announced the Voxel, a cryptocurrency designed to be a currency for virtual reality content creation. What else does the future hold? One of the most heady concepts surrounding Bitcoin is

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services could be handled in a collaborative, volunteer way. Before Bitcoin, I was more socialist than libertarian. But I now foresee systems being built with cryptocurrencies that satisfy the individual freedoms of libertarian ideals and the social safety nets desired by more progressive people. In a far-flung future, even local

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might arise. If that happens, running it on a blockchain makes perfect sense. Not to mention that these communities will eventually need a currency, and cryptocurrencies are uniquely designed to operate in the digital world. It’s not that traditional governments will go away completely; few are that optimistic. Nathan Wosnack

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and informational freedom provided by the Internet. If Bitcoin reaches its potential, billions of people will have their economic lives impacted by the growth of cryptocurrencies. They will gain an economic freedom that will enable them to climb the economic ladder in ways they never imagined possible. In short, Bitcoin will

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13, 2014. Accessed June 22, 2015. http://cointelegraph.com/news/112268/op-ed-how-bitcoin-could-change-how-we-interact-with-sports. Index A Alternative Cryptocurrencies: Arscoin, 283 Blackcoin, 309 Bytecoin, 304 Dash/Dark, 294 Dogecoin, 289 Ethereum, 311 Litecoin, 287 LTBCoin, 318 Monero, 304 Namecoin, 68, 305 NuBits, 296 NXT

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Cloud Mining, 189, 194 Cody Wilson, 86 Coin Mixing, 77 CoinJoin, 79 Darkwallet, 87 Coinality, 178 Coinbase, 140 [blockchain input. See also: Coinbase, Bitcoin Exchanges] Cryptocurrency 2.0 Projects: Bit/BlackHalo, 66 Counterparty, 273, 300 Distributed Automated Corporations (DACs), 69, 324 Factom, 302 iNation, 323 Maidsafe, 302 Mastercoin (see Omni) Omni

Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud

by Ben McKenzie and Jacob Silverman · 17 Jul 2023 · 329pp · 99,504 words

12: Chapter 11 CHAPTER 13: Preacher’s Father Epilogue Acknowledgments Appendix Notes Index AUTHOR’S NOTE If you currently own, or have ever owned, cryptocurrency and have lost money on that investment, rest assured that you are not alone. In fact, you join the ranks of the vast majority of

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—particularly prior to the invention of securities laws—created and destroyed fortunes overnight. Almost a century later, the casino descriptor proves even more apt: Cryptocurrencies and their assorted byproducts are generally regarded by economists as at best zero-sum. One person’s gain is another’s loss. You may have

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spread of a distorted economic narrative that led to its downfall. Narrative Economics was published in 2019, prior to both the current viral spread of cryptocurrency and the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that, it is remarkable to observe how intertwined these two viruses would become in the following years. To

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understand the origins of economic narratives surrounding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, we have to go back to the events that inspired them. Both crypto and the “easy money” policies from which this book derives its

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s the good news: You are now free to forget everything I just said. The operational details of blockchain technology are not important to understanding cryptocurrency’s rise in popular culture. Remember, blockchain is at least thirty years old and barely used by businesses outside of the crypto industry. Since

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use case gambling? Ironically enough, the more important technology is the one that predates it: public key encryption. What is important to understand about cryptocurrency is the economic narrative that developed around it, a constellation of sometimes overlapping stories that built up over the course of its existence. The original

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most popular digital currency, but it was not the first. In a 1982 paper, cryptographer David Chaum theorized the intellectual scaffolding of blockchain, upon which cryptocurrency would emerge some quarter of a century later. Chaum started his own digital currency company, DigiCash, in the late 1980s. Although it was technically

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mean a kind of financial anarchy. Criminals could use crypto to avoid taxes, sanctions, launder money, and collect profits from ransomware. A deluge of cryptocurrencies appeared, not just Ethereum but hundreds and then thousands of others, with the wave cresting during the so-called Initial Coin Offering (ICO) boom of

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money and circulating it through offshore markets. In terms of propensity for fraud, what could be more appealing? Stepping back even further, what did these cryptocurrencies do? From where did their value derive? They were bizarre. Imagine a conventional security, such as a share of stock in the company Apple.

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writing a few articles on the subject? Establish our bona fides, as it were, before we go to market with the book. Celebrities are endorsing cryptocurrencies left and right. Why not start with your superpower? ° ° ° On October 7, 2021, Slate published an article with the unambiguous title “Celebrity Crypto Shilling

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Lindsay Lohan for their involvement in promoting various crypto projects. Along with former NBA star Paul Pierce, Kim and Floyd had been shilling an obscure cryptocurrency called EthereumMax. Kim’s Instagram post from June 2021 read as follows: ARE YOU GUYS INTO CRYPTO???? THIS IS NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE BUT SHARING

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from the industry’s charming parlance, EthereumMax was a shitcoin. The hastily assembled crypto project seemed purposely designed to be confused with the second biggest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, even though the two were not related. Kim’s post, sent out to her then 251 million (!) followers, was an enormous publicity success

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an all-time high of around $3 trillion. According to a Pew study, 16 percent of adult Americans had invested in, traded, or used cryptocurrency, meaning some forty million people had been lured into the crypto casino. A December 2021 study commissioned by Grayscale, a prominent crypto company, found that

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influencers appear uncannily similar to someone pushing an old-fashioned MLM. Crypto-world celebrities employ a number of social media channels, hawking this or that cryptocurrency based on technobabble “fundamentals,” rumors, misinformation, or just a sense of optimism. Twitter, YouTube, Discord, Telegram, and TikTok were essential platforms for crypto influencers,

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eventually central banks were created to better manage the franchisee banks and ensure the safety of customer deposits. Among the many butcherings of language in cryptocurrency, historians may find this the cruelest cut of all. The purported “future of money” is in fact the past of money, a failed experiment

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myself, I searched for decent podcasts on the subject. Instead, I got a lot of shows with dudes—really loud dudes—hawking this or that cryptocurrency while waxing philosophically on freedom and privacy and displaying a garbage understanding of economics. It was annoying, tedious, and a tad suspect: If these

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° ° ° Two weeks after the Super Bowl, the headline in Variety blared: ‘The O.C.’ Star Ben McKenzie, Journalist Jacob Silverman Sell ‘Easy Money,’ Book About Cryptocurrency, to Abrams Press. After a few setbacks, Jacob and I had managed to convince Abrams Press, an imprint of the storied New York publisher initially

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such extreme financial risks. One man told us that he belonged to at least four DAOs—decentralized autonomous organizations—from which he earned several different cryptocurrencies. A DAO starts with a loose group of people who share a common goal. They build (or attempt to build) an organization without a

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through automated computer programs called smart contracts and stored on ledgers called blockchains. Membership in the organization is denoted in a governance token, aka a cryptocurrency, which is sort of like a voting share of a stock. If it all sounds painfully complicated, it’s not you. DAOs are notoriously

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offerings. CZ responded by moving his operation to Japan, only to have to move it again the following year when Japanese authorities warned against selling cryptocurrencies to the public without a license. Since 2018, Binance has refused to give a location for its global operations, claiming it has no headquarters.

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position liquidated when the price continued to rise. The response from Binance was of little help to users. It nevertheless revealed something fundamental about how cryptocurrency exchanges exist as murkily operated casinos that are essentially unaccountable to their customers. Instead of acknowledging the full scale of the problem, the official

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aggrieved customers. Kim and Ahmed connected with Liti Capital, a Switzerland-based blockchain private equity firm—essentially a litigation finance firm that issues its own cryptocurrency and tries to incorporate public decision-making into which cases it takes on. Liti staked $5 million to support the suit, which was being

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“world’s coolest dictator,” and his profile picture sported laser eyes favored by Bitcoin maximalists, or maxis, who believed that Bitcoin was the one true cryptocurrency and the rest imposters, mere shitcoins. Bukele bragged that he bought Bitcoin, using the state treasury, on his phone while sitting on the toilet.

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the same. Hilary Allen, professor of law at American University, wrote a paper in February 2022, just three months before the crash, referring to cryptocurrency and its assorted DeFi products as effectively a new form of shadow banking. Broadly speaking, shadow banking refers to a company offering banking services while

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drunk after last call. It was nearing its moment of subprime catastrophe. Of all the ironies crypto presented, this was surely near the top. Cryptocurrency, which was supposedly created as a solution to the myriad failures of our regulated financial system laid bare during the subprime crisis, had effectively reproduced

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Sam moved Alameda Research to Hong Kong in search of a more favorable regulatory environment. Hong Kong benefited from being close to mainland China, where cryptocurrency had exploded in popularity, due in no small part to the desire of wealthy Chinese to avoid state capital controls. In Hong Kong, everyone seemed

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dollars on its crypto investments. Elon Musk, the supposed genius billionaire who had gone on Saturday Night Live the year before and promoted Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency he admitted was “a hustle,” had apparently been hustled himself. (Musk was simultaneously in the midst of receiving the most expensive lesson in contract

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, Bitcoin followed in the financial lineage of beef futures. For many coiners, it was taken as good news, a way of legitimizing the first cryptocurrency by enshrining it under the existing regulatory regime. One year later, the CFTC announced that TeraExchange had engaged in illegal wash trading surrounding that very

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and others considered derivatives contracts commodities, which was justifiable under a strict reading of the Commodity Exchange Act. Because such contracts existed for Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency itself was one. Bitcoin’s a pretty weird commodity, in that it obviously isn’t tied to any specific physical good, as commodities were

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lot to make sure there is no fraud or other manipulation. Thank you, Mr. Bankman-Fried, for helping us understand the extensive guardrails a cryptocurrency exchange like FTX has in place to ensure sound crypto spot markets for investors.” Rep. Emmer was hopeful that further discussions might let them proceed

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. They never have a chance. David can never know for sure, but he suspects that forex was how his father stumbled upon Stallion Wings, a cryptocurrency investment firm promising incredible returns. ° ° ° Lin and Aaron Sternlicht run a boutique addiction services firm in New York City catering to high–net worth

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are effectively valueless are often described as Ponzi schemes, which are regulated under American law by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In my opinion, the cryptocurrency industry represents the largest Ponzi scheme in history.” I hit the red button and glanced up. Thirty feet away, on the dais above me,

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bought every CEL token in the market at least one time and in some instances, twice.” Given the opaque and largely unregulated nature of the cryptocurrency industry, there was little stopping Celsius from engaging in what would otherwise constitute blatant fraud. While the euphoria of the crypto bubble lasted, such

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. While the bank served a wide variety of clients, from law firms to real estate developers to taxi medallion businesses, it had recently ventured into cryptocurrency. At the time of its closure, Signature held approximately $100 billion worth of assets, and $16.52 billion in digital asset–related client deposits.

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the failures was alarming, I couldn’t help but notice that two of the three collapsed banks had significant exposure to the volatile world of cryptocurrency, and the third (SVB) counted as clients the crypto companies Ripple, BlockFi, Circle, Avalanche, and Yuga Labs, among others. I thought back to the

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Critics’ Corner. Thank you to Stephen Diehl for being as generous to fellow skeptics as he is eloquent in his deconstructions of the myths surrounding cryptocurrency. Thank you to Molly White for chronicling the absurdities of crypto and Web3 through her website web3isgoinggreat.com. I’m grateful for the work

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Harriet Agnew, “Jim Chanos: ‘We are in the golden age of fraud,’” Financial Times, July 24, 2020. 4 A few thousand cryptos: CoinMarketCap, “Today’s Cryptocurrency Prices by Market Cap,” https://Coinmarketcap.com. 4 An estimated forty million Americans: Pew Research Center, November 11, 2021. 5 In his 2019 book: Robert

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FTX Shareholders Facing Wipeout,” Bloomberg, January 10, 2023. 52 42% of men: Michelle Faverio and Navid Massarat, “46% of Americans who have invested in cryptocurrency say it’s done worse than expected,” Pew Research Center, August 2022. 53 “In theory, the difference seems to be”: Amanda Montell, Cultish: The Language

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against the world’s largest crypto exchange,” Washington Post, April 1, 2022. 92 crypto took off in China . . . to avoid capital controls: Karen Yeung, “Cryptocurrencies help Chinese evade capital and currency controls in moving billions overseas,” South China Morning Post, August 26, 2020. 92 Binance has . . . no headquarters: Patricia Kowsmann

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down as FTX CEO as his crypto exchange files for bankruptcy,” CNBC, November 11, 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/11/sam-bankman-frieds-cryptocurrency-exchange-ftx-files-for-bankruptcy.html. 228 “ ‘God Mode’ to short coins . . .”: Alex Mashinsky (@Mashinsky), Twitter, December 3, 2022, https://twitter.com/mashinsky/with

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District Court (Southern District of New York), December 21, 2022, https://www.cftc.gov/media/8021/enfftxtradingcomplaint122122/download. 237 In January 2023: Giulia Heyward, “Cryptocurrency giant Coin-base strikes a $100 million deal with New York regulators,” NPR, January 4, 2023, https://www.npr.org/2023/01/04/1146915338/coinbase

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-settlement-cryptocurrency-exchange-new-york-dfs. CHAPTER 13: PREACHER’S FATHER 243 a story about his dad, Hal: Multiple interviews with David Henson in 2022; reporting

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to Stop Issuing Binance Stablecoin,” Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2023. 262 the government charged . . . Bitzlato: press release, “Founder and Majority Owner of Bitzlato, a Cryptocurrency Exchange, Charged with Unlicensed Money Transmitting,” US Attorney’s Office (Eastern District of New York), https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/founder-and-majority

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-owner-bitzlato-cryptocurrency-exchange-charged-unlicensed-money. 264 Silvergate made a “risk based decision”: Rachel Louise Ensign, “Crypto Bank Silvergate to Shut Down, Repay Deposits,” Wall Street

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(1936) Commodity Exchange Authority (CEA) Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) cooling out the mark COVID-19 pandemic Credit Suisse Cressey, Donald Crypto Critics’ Corner (podcast) cryptocurrency. See specific topics Cultish (Montell) Damon, Matt Davidson, Warren Davies, Dan Davies, Kyle decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) decentralized finance (DeFi) Dell, Michael Democratic Party

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P. multi-level marketing scheme (MLM) Murdoch, Lachlan Mushegian, Nikolai Musk, Elon Nadkarni, Tushar Nailwal, Sandeep Narrative Economics (Shiller) National Bureau of Economic Research National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team National League Championship Series naturally occurring Ponzi schemes Neuner, Ran New Republic Newsome, Jim New York magazine New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) New

The Future of Money: How the Digital Revolution Is Transforming Currencies and Finance

by Eswar S. Prasad · 27 Sep 2021 · 661pp · 185,701 words

risks of financial innovations, will have a pronounced impact on the risk / benefit balance. Taking Stock of Looming Changes Recent Fintech innovations—including those underpinning cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin—herald broader access to the financial system, quicker and more easily verifiable settlement of transactions and payments, and lower transaction costs. Domestic

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checked and authenticated by an authority such as a bank or payment provider in which both parties have faith. Remarkably, the blockchain technology underlying the cryptocurrency Bitcoin circumvents the need for a trusted party to validate transactions. It accomplishes this through a decentralized public consensus mechanism that involves agreement among a

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as one critically surveys the evolving landscape of official and privately issued digital currencies and the competition between them. One ambitious approach, which underlies decentralized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, involves doing away with the need for trusted institutions altogether, instead delegating trust to the public square. That is, trust is

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facilitate cross-border payments, including xCurrent (a payment-processing system for banks), xRapid (which enables financial institutions to minimize liquidity costs while using the native cryptocurrency XRP as a bridge from one fiat currency to another), and xVia (which enables businesses to send payments via RippleNet). These elements enable financial institutions

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, they gain the power to invalidate previously authenticated transactions and undertake double-spending. This upends the immutability and trustworthiness of a blockchain. Majority attacks on cryptocurrencies are not uncommon. In May 2018, Bitcoin Gold was subjected to such an attack, with an estimated $18 million stolen through double-spending. Bitcoin

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anonymity than Bitcoin. Monero-based transactions have the following features: unlinkable to any fixed identity, untraceable flows of funds, and concealed transaction sizes. Zcash, another cryptocurrency claiming to be “truly” anonymous, was introduced in 2016. Rather than using ring signatures like Monero, Zcash uses “zero-knowledge proofs,” an ingenious cryptographic tool

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the degree of centralization of the validation mechanism (for instance, more centralization typically means less anonymity), although such trade-offs exist even among fully decentralized cryptocurrencies. Smart Contracts Over time, other virtual currencies added significant new features that updated the blockchain concept so it could handle a wider variety of information

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a normal requirement under the country’s laws. In principle, smart contracts should not even require such legal backing, but as with other features of cryptocurrencies and blockchains, this official imprimatur could help in building confidence in such decentralized systems. The Bitcoin blockchain does not accommodate smart contract features, which could

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foreign virtual currency spot exchanges largely through state money transfer laws. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) treats virtual currencies as property, which means that cryptocurrency holdings have to be reported on income tax filings and are subject to capital gains taxes. The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) monitors

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boundaries could raise some important enforcement issues in the future, for both state and national regulators. Regulation Needs Overhaul and Updating As Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, along with the technologies underpinning them, start playing a bigger role in financial markets, issues of regulatory jurisdiction and the potential for regulatory gaps take

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of cash could assist in these efforts, although the likely shifting of illicit fund transfers to decentralized payment systems and intermediation through anonymous, decentralized cryptocurrencies could vitiate this progress. This is one reason central banks might seriously consider issuing CBDCs—so they can retain some control of or at least

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only would foreign financial institutions be unwilling to use such currencies that their home country regulators would frown upon, but the fact that even official cryptocurrencies would eventually have to be converted into more reliable currencies could vitiate any attempt to escape the dollar-centric international financial system. Similarly, the notion

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of issuing official cryptocurrencies as a way of raising government revenues without inflationary consequences seems misguided. Households and businesses can hardly be blind to the temptations that profligate governments

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would face when issuing cryptocurrencies to finance their expenditures. An undisciplined government, especially one with a compliant central bank that was willing to print money to finance runaway government expenditures

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they represent liabilities of a central bank. So their reliability and widespread acceptability is open to question. Notwithstanding all these conceptual problems with state-backed cryptocurrencies—especially those intended to fix budget problems or evade financial sanctions—some countries are forging ahead (Iran and Russia have stayed on the sidelines for

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that “digital ledger technology changes the cost-benefit equation. It allows small countries to potentially combine the best features of traditional government-issued currencies and cryptocurrencies, leapfrogging obsolete stages in monetary development.” In February 2018, the country’s parliament, known as the Nitijela, passed a law making the SOV the

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a result of being small, which often implies limited access to global finance, or to sidestep the consequences of mismanaged economic policies. Unsavory associations with cryptocurrencies are best avoided by central banks. The tension between customers’ desire for privacy and national authorities’ need for transactions to be auditable and traceable

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messaging system. Competition for SWIFT SWIFT faces technical challenges as well. The system passes payments through a number of nodes, slowing down the transaction process. Cryptocurrencies and other new payment systems might bypass the need for routing through multiple nodes or, in any event, provide alternative protocols for payments and settlement

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used both within and across countries, even that exchange rate might have less relevance. These are fanciful but unlikely outcomes, given the volatility of unbacked cryptocurrencies’ values and the likelihood that CBDCs will compete with single-currency or multicurrency stablecoins. For the foreseeable future, exchange rates for each country’s

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for government, which will retain important roles in enforcing contractual and property rights, protecting investors, and ensuring financial stability. After all, it appears that even cryptocurrencies and innovative financial products work better when they are built on the foundation of trust that comes from government oversight and regulation, even if only

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structures are also in prospect. The displacement of cash by digital payment systems will eliminate any vestige of privacy in commercial transactions. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were intended to secure pseudonymity and eliminate reliance on governments and major financial institutions in the conduct of commerce. They might, instead, spur changes that

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“Use Satoshi to USD Converter to Know Bitcoin’s Value in US Dollars,” Associated Press, September 22, 2020, https://apnews.com/press-release/ts-newswire/cryptocurrency-financial-technology-technology-bitcoin-financial-markets-91915cb6e5fb94e6b7bac39d2be86ed4#. A Marvel Advantages of Blockchain Technology For a discussion about consensus mechanisms, see Deloitte, The Future Is Here

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from the final version of this list: http://www.gov. cn / xinwen/2019-11/06 / 5449193 / files/26c9d25f713f4ed5b8dc51ae40ef37af.pdf (in Chinese). The proliferation of cryptocurrency farms in Bratsk, Siberia, is described in Anna Baydakova, “Bitcoin Mining Farms Are Flourishing on the Ruins of Soviet Industry in Siberia,” Coindesk, September 1

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Inner Mongolia for 8 percent. See Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, “Bitcoin Mining Map,” interactive graphic, https://cbeci.org/mining_map. China’s policies toward cryptocurrencies are summarized in Helen Partz, “China Didn’t Ban Bitcoin Entirely, Says Beijing Arbitration Commission,” Cointelegraph, July 30, 2020, https://cointelegraph.com/news/china-didnt

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Policy Shift and Cheap Power, Despite Trading Ban,” South China Morning Post, November 25, 2019, https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3039254/chinas-cryptocurrency-miners-look-capitalise-policy-shift. Other researchers have found that the Bitcoin network generates significant carbon emissions and associated climate change impacts. See Stoll, Klaasen

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Statement on Cryptoassets and Smart Contracts,” LawTech Delivery Panel, November 2019, https://35z8e83m1ih83drye280o9d1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/6.6056_JO_Cryptocurrencies_Statement_FINAL_WEB_111119-1.pdf. Coin Offerings Initial Coin Offerings For an analytical evaluation of the ICO funding mechanism and how it affects the

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idUSKCN1TL2E0. Concerns about the distorted incentives created by exchanges that receive payments for conducting IEOs are noted in David Canellis, “Binance Vows to Donate All Cryptocurrency Listing Fees to Charity,” TNW, https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2018/10/08/binance-listing-fees-charity/. Specific information about the BitTorrent IEO and a private

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December 18, 2019, https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/brainard20191218a.htm. CTF, or combating terrorism financing, is the same concept as CFT. A compendium of cryptocurrency regulations in various countries can be found at Global Legal Insights, “Fintech Laws and Regulations 2020,” website, https://www.globallegalinsights.com/practice-areas/fintech-laws

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://www.sec.gov/spotlight/cybersecurity-enforcement-actions. A paper by Timothy Massad, former chairman of the CFTC, provides a useful overview of the regulation of cryptocurrencies. See Massad (2019). A CFTC report notes that it has “taken action against unregistered Bitcoin futures exchanges (BitFinex), enforced the laws prohibiting wash trading

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see Teresa Goody Guillén, Robert A. Musiala Jr., and Jonathan A. Forman, “New York Appellate Court Confirms Attorney General’s Broad Investigative Powers into the Cryptocurrency Industry,” Lexology, July 15, 2020, https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=98b6eb5b-ca72-4863-bc62-631b1e39d6f9. Regulation Needs Overhaul and Updating SEC chairman

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Blockchain,” Chain Why, https://www.chainwhy.com/upload/default/20180629/cc7814b402a92dd452854e8638a3082c.pdf. The promotional video, featuring “Jesus” himself trying to persuade investors to buy his cryptocurrency, ends with enthusiastic investors saying that Jesus Coin could be bigger than Bitcoin, to which Jesus responds, “Dad would be so proud”!, https://www.youtube

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that an identified CBDC would reduce informality but could lead to substitution away from domestic fiat currencies, in either physical or digital form, toward nonofficial cryptocurrencies and foreign currencies. For an example of a regional payment initiative from South Asia, see https://www.saarcpaymentsinitiative.org/. SAARC is the South Asian Association

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Future of Cash Payments. Springer Briefs in Economics. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature. Aslanidis, Nektarios, Aurelio F. Bariviera, and Oscar Martínez-Ibañez. 2019. “An Analysis of Cryptocurrencies Conditional Cross Correlations,” Finance Research Letters 31, 130–137. Assenmacher, Katrin, and Signe Krogstrup. 2018. “Monetary Policy with Negative Interest Rates: Decoupling Cash from Electronic

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Linnemann, Umar Faruqui, and Takeshi Shirakami. 2020. “Payments without Borders.” BIS Quarterly Review (March): 53–65. Bech, Morten Linneman, and Rodney Garratt. 2017. “Central Bank Cryptocurrencies.” Bank for International Settlements Quarterly Review (September): 55–70. Beckerman, Paul, and Andres Solimano. 2002. Crisis and Dollarization in Ecuador: Stability, Growth, and Social Equity

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New York: Penguin. Bonneau, Joseph, Andrew Miller, Jeremy Clark, Arvind Narayanan, Joshua Kroll, and Edward W. Felten. 2015. “Research Perspectives and Challenges for Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies.” Paper presented at the 2015 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, San Jose, CA, May 17–21, 104–121. Boockmann, Bernhard, and Friedrich Schneider. 2018

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National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA, January. Borges, Jorge Luis. 1998. Collected Fictions. Translated by Andrew Hurley. New York: Penguin Press. Brainard, Lael. 2018. “Cryptocurrencies, Digital Currencies, and Distributed Ledger Technologies: What Are We Learning?” Speech, Decoding Digital Currency Conference, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, San Francisco, May 15

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0: Frontrunning, Transaction Reordering, and Consensus Instability in Decentralized Exchanges.” Ithaca, NY: Cornell University. arXiv: 1904.05234. Danezis, George, and Sarah Meiklejohn. 2016. “Centrally Banked Cryptocurrencies.” Paper presented at the NDSS Symposium, San Diego, February. Del Mar, Alexander. 1885. A History of Money in Ancient Countries: From the Earliest Times to

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the Fintech Revolution. Washington, DC: World Bank Group. Dhawan, Anirudh, and Talis J. Putnins. 2020. “A New Wolf in Town? Pump-and-Dump Manipulation in Cryptocurrency Markets.” Unpublished manuscript, University of Technology, Sydney. Di Maggio, Marco, and Vincent Yao. 2020. “Fintech Borrowers: Lax Screening or Cream-Skimming?” NBER Working Paper

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for the Democratic Digital Dollar.” Unpublished manuscript, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Howell, Sabrina, Marina Niessner, and David Yermack. 2021. “Initial Coin Offerings: Financing Growth with Cryptocurrency Sales.” Review of Financial Studies (forthcoming). Hummel, Jeffrey Rogers. 2019. “Abolishing Cash: Be Careful What You Wish For.” Milken Institute Review (April). Ingves, Stefan. 2017

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Electronic Cash System.” White paper. https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf, October. Narayanan, Arvind, Joseph Bonneau, Edward Felten, Andrew Miller, and Steven Goldfeder. 2016. Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies: A Comprehensive Introduction. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Nash, Ogden. 1995. Selected Poetry of Ogden Nash. New York: Black Dog and Leventhal. Nilekani, Nandan

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; counterparty risk in, 9, 199, 328; credit and debit card (see credit and debit cards); cross-border or international (see international payments and settlements); cryptocurrencies in (see cryptocurrencies); decentralization of, 8–9, 11, 56, 90, 267–268, 324–325, 334–335; in developing economies, 15–16, 64–68, 84–88, 344–

Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond

by Chris Burniske and Jack Tatar · 19 Oct 2017 · 416pp · 106,532 words

define that coming world. —MICHAEL J. CASEY, senior advisor to the Digital Currency Initiative at MIT Media Lab and coauthor of The Age of Cryptocurrency In this sweeping and lucid work, Burniske and Tatar make a compelling case that cryptoassets are foundational to the second generation of the Internet and

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makes us all potential winners. —GEORGE GILDER, cofounder of the Discovery Institute and author of The Scandal of Money The growth and importance of cryptocurrency and cryptocomputing rivals the early growth of the commercial Internet and web, and the technical and economic revolution that will result is perhaps even more

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of their thinking in an easy-to-digest manner. —DAVID KINITSKY, VP of research and innovation at Fidelity Labs For the uninitiated, the world of cryptocurrencies is fraught with risks and pitfalls. No one should venture into this world without preparation. Cryptoassets explains, in simple to understand terms, the full

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investor and principal developer at Medici Ventures Newcomers often try to wiggle their way into the world of accepted financial tools. Most fail miserably. But cryptocurrency and its accompanying blockchain technology have made their mark and will likely have an ongoing impact on how we all do business. Burniske and Tatar

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that are arguably just as important as our physical commodities, and when provisioned via a blockchain network, they are most clearly defined as cryptocommodities. Beyond cryptocurrencies and cryptocommodities—and also provisioned via blockchain networks—are “finished-product” digital goods and services like media, social networks, games, and more, which are

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physical world, where currencies and commodities fuel an economy to create finished goods and services, so too in the digital world the infrastructures provided by cryptocurrencies and cryptocommodities are coming together to support the aforementioned finished-product digital goods and services. Cryptotokens are in the earliest stage of development, and will

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likely be the last to gain traction as they require a robust cryptocurrency and cryptocommodity infrastructure to be built before they can reliably function. In summation, we believe that a clearer view of this brave new world

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of blockchain architecture includes cryptocurrencies, cryptocommodities, and cryptotokens, just as we have had currencies, commodities, and finished goods and services in the preceding centuries. Be it a currency, commodity,

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or service, blockchain architectures help provision these digital resources in a distributed and market-based manner. In this chapter, we focus on the most important cryptocurrencies today, including bitcoin, litecoin, ripple, monero, dash, and zcash. The next chapter covers the world of cryptocommodities and cryptotokens, the development of which has

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as digital gold.14 THE BIRTH OF ALTCOINS Within a couple years of launching, it had become clear that bitcoin was the first fully decentralized cryptocurrency to gain significant adoption, but there were some aspects with which people were not fully satisfied. For example, bitcoin’s 10-minute block time

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to keep track of the debits and credits of the new native asset. Through this combination of open-source software and ingenious programmers, many other cryptocurrencies have been brought into existence. Those that are only slight modifications of Bitcoin are often referred to as altcoins. BITCOIN’S FIRST DIGITAL SIBLING

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asset. Litecoin While a handful of altcoins were released through 2011, Litecoin was the first that would retain significant value to this day. The cryptocurrency was developed by Charlie Lee, an MIT graduate who was a software engineer at Google. When Lee learned of Bitcoin he quickly understood its power

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-fourth as valuable as a unit of bitcoin because there are four times as many units outstanding. This is an important lesson, because all cryptocurrencies differ in their supply schedules, and thus the direct price of each cryptoasset should not be compared if trying to ascertain the appreciation potential of

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basis for other cryptoassets. At the start of 2017, litecoin was the fourth largest cryptoasset in terms of network value.20 Ripple Ripple is a cryptocurrency created in 2004 by Ryan Fugger, a web developer from Vancouver, British Columbia. Work on the project actually began before Satoshi and Bitcoin,21

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OpenCoin, had secured funding from prestigious venture capitalists, including Andreessen Horowitz.25 This was a notable development—a sign of approval of the viability of cryptocurrency from one of the most revered venture capital firms in the world. OpenCoin would later rebrand as Ripple Labs. Ripple’s technology did several

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we’ll discuss this further in Chapter 12). If the core community feels the distribution is unfair, that may forever plague the growth of the cryptocurrency. Ripple has since pivoted away from being a transaction mechanism for the common person and instead now “enables banks to send real-time international payments

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Auroracoin’s creator also had a fictitious name: Baldur Friggjar Óðinsson. Baldur created Auroracoin based on Litecoin’s code and decided to “air-drop” the cryptocurrency to Icelanders with the intent of providing 50 percent of all auroracoin in existence to residents. The hope was that such a distribution would jump

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-start national use of the cryptocurrency. A key to Baldur’s plan was his access to the government’s national identification system, which led speculators to believe mistakenly that Auroracoin

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illegal activity is better off using cash than bitcoin. With every transaction, bitcoin leaves an indelible digital mark in Bitcoin’s blockchain. Currently, three notable cryptocurrencies put privacy and anonymity first. In order of launch, they are Dash, Monero, and Zcash. All three pursue this value proposition differently. Monero is

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in the book and suitable only for the most experienced cryptoasset investors. Monero and Its Predecessor, Bytecoin Monero is a descendent of a lesser-known cryptocurrency called Bytecoin. Bytecoin was crafted quite differently from Bitcoin, using technology known as CryptoNote. Similar to Litecoin’s scrypt, CryptoNote’s block hashing algorithm

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for example, specifically chose not to continue building off Bytecoin because the premine distribution had been perceived as unfair. Zcash The most interest in a cryptocurrency in 2016 was generated by a new cryptoasset called Zcash. The Bitcoin and blockchain community has always been excited by new developments in anonymity and

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rapidly growing segment of this budding new asset class. First, let’s look at cryptocommodities. In some ways, cryptocommodities are more tangible in value than cryptocurrencies. For example, the largest cryptocommodity, Ethereum, is a decentralized world computer upon which globally accessible and uncensored applications can be built. It’s easy to

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would be “used entirely to pay salaries and bounties to developers, and invested into various for-profit and non-profit projects in the Ethereum and cryptocurrency ecosystem.” In addition to the 60 million ether sold to the public, roughly 6 million was created to compensate early contributors to Ethereum, and

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book we will be making the case that we believe there is much more price appreciation potential yet to come from both bitcoin and select cryptocurrencies, cryptocommodities, and cryptotokens. Dollar cost averaging is a means by which the innovative investor can avoid extreme sensitivity to the starting point of investing.

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growth. Cryptoassets are a class that falls between the C/T and store of value superclasses. Within the cryptoassets class there are the subclasses of cryptocurrencies, cryptocommodities, and cryptotokens. ETFS AND MUTUAL FUNDS ARE WRAPPERS, NOT ASSET CLASSES It should be noted that when we talk about asset classes we

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the speculation of crowds. This is especially true as people fixate on the incredible returns some early bitcoin investors enjoyed and hope that the latest cryptocurrency, cryptocommodity, or cryptotoken will make them rich too. However, remember that just because the unfettered enthusiasm of a crowd takes an asset to unreasonable

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The Zcash Bubble One of the most meteoric rises and crashes was the October 2016 rollout of the new privacy-focused cyptocurrency zcash (ZEC). Few cryptocurrencies have been more anticipated than this one, and rightfully so, given its strong engineering team. Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin was an advisor and described

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an entire ecosystem of hardware, software developers, companies, and users built around it. Essentially, it has created its own economy, and while a superior cryptocurrency could slowly gain share, it would have an uphill battle given the foothold bitcoin has gained. On the other hand, a newly launched cryptoasset is

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support is assessing company support for a cryptoasset. Websites like SpendBitcoins.com16 inform visitors how many places accept a specific cryptoasset; a metric important for cryptocurrencies but not so much for cryptocommodities and cryptotokens. A different approach is to monitor the number of companies supporting a cryptoasset, which can be done

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wallets support bitcoin. The Ledger Nano S provides support to some cryptoassets beyond bitcoin, and KeepKey is now integrating with ShapeShift to support additional cryptocurrencies beyond bitcoin.37 We’re sure to see this space grow over the next few years as more hardware wallets expand their capabilities to support

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. Similarly, we will likely have funds of cryptoassets based on their functionality, such as a cryptocommodity fund, or perhaps a fund of the privacy focused cryptocurrencies like monero, dash, and zcash. Lastly, given the growing trend of indexation, as the cryptoasset space matures significantly, we could see network value weighted

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send bitcoin or ether to an address to reserve their share of an ICO. Depending on the intent of the ICO, investors may receive a cryptocurrency, cryptocommodity, or cryptotoken in return for their initial investment. How an investor receives the appropriate cryptoasset can differ, as some may require the creation

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with cloud computing offerings, such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google? If companies can get paid more quickly and with lower transaction fees using the latest cryptocurrency, will that have an impact on credit card providers like Visa and American Express? EXPONENTIAL DISRUPTION Clayton Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School, wrote

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this to say: Millennials, assisted by a cadre of impressively socially awkward Bitcoin startup VC types, are piling intellectual and financial capital into this whole cryptocurrency idea—Bitcoin, Ethereum, all of it. What “e-” in front of any noun did for techie investor excitement in the 1990s, “crypto” and “blockchain”

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(free) data on trading and volume patterns, but also technical indicators, social media stats, developer activity, and more. Education: https://www.coursera.org/learn/cryptocurrency There are a growing number of quality courses available online that provide a deep understanding of bitcoin and cryptoassets. One of our favorites is the

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“Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies” course provided by Princeton University via Coursera. Etherscan: https://etherscan.io/charts The best place for charts and easily downloadable CSV files of Ethereum

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a cryptoasset. 2. https://coinmarketcap.com/. 3. http://cryptome.org/jya/digicrash.htm. 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid. 6. https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/quick-history-cryptocurrencies-bbtc-bitcoin-1397682630/. 7. http://karmakoin.com/how_it_works. 8. MoIP is a riff off the term “VoIP,” which stands for Voice-over-Internet

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2015. 15. https://namecoin.org/. 16. https://bit.namecoin.org/. 17. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1790.0. 18. https://litecoin.info/History_of_cryptocurrency. 19. https://litecoin.info/Comparison_between_Litecoin_and_Bitcoin/Alternative_work_in_progress_version. 20. https://coinmarketcap.com/historical/20170101/. 21. http://ryanfugger.com/. 22

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34. Ibid. 35. https://github.com/dogecoin/dogecoin/issues/23. 36. http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-dogecoin-2013-12. 37. http://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/education-centre/what-is-dogecoin/. 38. http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2013/s3931812.htm. 39. https://99bitcoins.com/price-chart-history/. 40. https

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://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/worth-1-billion-icelands-cryptocurrency-is-the-third-largest-in-the-world. 41. https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/auroracoin/. 42. https://medium.com/the-nordic-web/the-failed-crypto-currency-

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Content/application/pdf/GWMOL/Q1MarketQuarterly04172013.pdf. 14. https://www.pershing.com/our-thinking/thought-leadership/advisor-perceptions-of-alternative-investments. 15. https://www.thebalance.com/cryptocurrencies-are-the-new-alternative-investment-4048017. Chapter 7 1. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/do-bitcoins-belong-in-your-retirement-portfolio-2013-08-29. 2

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bitcoinity.org/markets/exchanges/USD/30d. Screenshot taken February 18, 2017. 7. CryptoCompare, Log scale. 8. https://www.wired.com/2017/01/monero-drug-dealers-cryptocurrency-choice-fire/. 9. http://www.coindesk.com/chinas-central-bank-issues-warnings-major-bitcoin-exchanges/. 10. An example of increased regulation dampening liquidity and trading

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the geographic distribution of the hardware maintaining and building a blockchain. 11. http://startupmanagement.org/2015/02/15/best-practices-in-transparency-and-reporting-for-cryptocurrency-crowdsales/. 12. Here are bitcoin’s social repository points from CryptoCompare: https://www.cryptocompare.com/coins/btc/influence. You can substitute any cryptoasset symbol

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nice list of ICO resources and websites at http://startupmanagement.org/2017/03/13/the-ultimate-list-of-ico-resources-18-websites-that-track-initial-cryptocurrency-offerings/. 20. https://www.smithandcrown.com/icos/. 21. http://www.icocountdown.com/. 22. https://cyber.fund/. 23. http://nakamotoinstitute.org/. 24. http://nakamotoinstitute.org/

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ROE), 172 Returns, 73, 98 expectation of, 75 volatility and, 97 Rewards, 57 for developers, 60 risk and, 96, 99 Ring signatures, 47 Ripple, 196 cryptocurrencies as, 41–43 developers for, 197 volatility and, 130 Risk, 70 discounting, 180 diversification and, 101 investments and, 71 for investors, 72–73 rewards and

The Pay Off: How Changing the Way We Pay Changes Everything

by Gottfried Leibbrandt and Natasha de Teran · 14 Jul 2021 · 326pp · 91,532 words

20. Live now, pay later: the allure of invisibility 21. The new oil? The importance of data 22. In code we trust: meeting the cryptocurrencies 23. BigTech and banks enter the fray 24. Crypto for grown-ups: central banks go digital 25. Open access or closed loops: how payment networks

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for the most fundamental of payment types – the number and size of cash transactions. Payments can be anonymous or traceable or, in the case of cryptocurrencies, both: Bitcoin transactions are anonymous yet visible to all. The system is transparent and opaque; clean and dirty. The bad guys use it as well

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closer look at the world’s oldest form of payment. ______________________________________________________________________ 1 Private keys are secret numbers that allow users to access their Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. 2 Lieftinck had withdrawn all notes from circulation, giving those who held them blocked bank credits. Banks were subsequently supplied with new banknotes, so that

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distribute them around the island in armoured trucks. The Puerto Rican example is often cited as evidence in favour of cryptocurrencies,4 but this contention conveniently overlooks the fact that cryptocurrencies rely on the very same communications networks and electricity grids as ATMs and digital payments. Disasters come in all shapes

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It can contain your bank cards and hold cash balances. Examples are Apple Pay and PayPal, as well as Alipay and Tenpay in China. 4 Cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin) are ‘currencies’ that exist solely electronically, use secure technology and are based on a peer-to-peer or decentralised system with no

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that cheques are most popular in the country that invented cards, that spawned PayPal and Apple Pay and dreamed up Libra (now Diem), Facebook’s cryptocurrency project.1 Three-quarters of all cheques are written in the USA – no other country comes anywhere close (next in line is France, accounting for

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with a relatively underdeveloped payment system but with 1.4 billion inhabitants all equipped with smartphones . . . ______________________________________________________________________ 1 Announced by Facebook in June 2019, the Libra cryptocurrency project was renamed Diem in December 2020. 2 Cheques arguably do carry the risk of ‘slipping pen’ errors whereby the writer enters the wrong amount

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we pay. And – sacrilege, we know, for true believers – they can achieve many of the benefits promised by the much touted blockchain technology that underpins cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (which we’ll look at in Chapter 22). These APIs allow others – whether foreign behemoths like Amazon and Google or local Indian providers

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because a completely different form of new technology is being used by other players keen to reshape the fundamentals of how we pay. Advocates of cryptocurrencies think they have the answers – but are they asking the right questions? ______________________________________________________________________ 1 ‘Open Banking’ was mandated by the Competition and Markets Authority in

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at the request of payment service users with respect to payment accounts held at other payment service providers. 22. In code we trust: meeting the cryptocurrencies Late in January 2018, I was attending the World Economic Forum in Davos. Walking back to my hotel one day, I passed a gaggle

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integrity of payments – and indeed money itself – rests on trust in computer code and cryptography. As crypto visionaries and enthusiasts see it, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are superior alternatives to our current payment systems and could even replace much of our financial system. There would be no more need to put

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by recording transactions in immutable shared ledgers that are open for all to inspect and see. That’s a significant claim to make, but then cryptocurrencies have come a long way. The mechanisms behind Bitcoin are pure genius. What’s more, they actually work. I am therefore compelled to try

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been modified since. I use my private key to sign transactions, thus proving that I actually own the Bitcoin I am transferring. Bitcoin, like other cryptocurrencies, takes the form of electronic tokens that can be transferred online. If you want to pay me 0.02 Bitcoin (worth about $600), I

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to wait another sixty minutes before considering the transaction as irreversible. According to coinmarketcap.com, an authority on all matters crypto, the total value of cryptocurrencies in circulation is around $765 billion. That’s not bad considering crypto kicked off only in 2009. And while its adoption as a method of

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payment has been more limited than the enthusiasts hoped, cryptocurrencies have profoundly reshaped the debate about money and paying. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the Bitcoin founders should feel flattered (in

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addition to wealthy). Everyone from BigTech to banks to central banks is now looking to issue their own cryptocurrency. A dizzying 5,500 cryptocurrencies are in circulation, many of which aren’t even currencies in the strict sense – they are coins issued through ICOs. Much as

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. On 1 January 2021 its value stood at around $540 billion, representing well over two-thirds of the total value of all cryptocurrencies (see Table 4). Table 4. Largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation. Rank Currency Market value ($ billions) Share of market cap (%) 1 Bitcoin 540 71 2 Ethereum (Ether) 85 11

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the sender and mining costs. Ethereum/Ether With 11 per cent of the crypto market’s total value, Ethereum’s Ether is the next largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, and the prime example of a utility coin. Ethereum is a ‘distributed computing platform’ and a very different animal from Bitcoin. Its

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end of 2016 most major crypto exchanges had delisted its tokens from trading. Ethereum Classic still exists, but now ranks #41 on the list of cryptocurrencies, worth only 1 per cent of the value of Ethereum. While Ethereum’s coding language is specifically geared towards smart contracts, few smart contracts have

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been entered into thus far. But the Ethereum code seems to be quite handy for launching new crypto tokens, as many of the 5,500 cryptocurrencies (mostly ICOs) are built and executed on the Ethereum distributed computing platform. Tether (THT) Next up in value we have Tether, worth $20 billion.

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suggested that much of Tether’s usage consists of avoiding currency controls on the Chinese yuan. So it’s good if you are either into cryptocurrencies as assets or you face difficulties getting your yuan out of mainland China. Not so good is the fact that most of THT’s

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company Ripple Labs. Ripple’s idea is (or was) to radically improve crossborder payments. The initial thinking was that banks would use Ripple’s XRP cryptocurrency for all their cross-border transactions, eliminating the need for intermediary correspondent banks, Swift, Nostro accounts and all the rest. XRP would enable transfers to

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boasts and a small following). Like cash, many Bitcoin payments take place within the underground economy – although, to be fair, that’s not just Bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies have become an indispensable part of an online illicit-transaction ecosystem known as the dark net. Users can access the dark net through TOR, a

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shady marketplaces that sell everything from drugs and weapons to malware, stolen credit card numbers and compromised bank accounts. Crime is a problem for all cryptocurrencies, but a recent study estimates that half of all Bitcoin payments are used for illicit transactions. Until 2016 as many as 60–80 per cent

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sellers of illicit goods alone: fraudsters love them too. Always quick to swoop on new technologies, fraudsters have made the cryptocurrency world their new backyard. They realised early on that cryptocurrencies are a criminal’s dream currency: anonymous, hard to trace and very easy to transfer around the globe. Since making

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this discovery ingenious fraudsters have been obtaining cryptocurrency by, for example, planting malware that uses computing power to mine Bitcoin on other people’s computers. The computer owners are usually blissfully unaware, though

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someone else’s crypto coins. The biggest frauds, however, have involved crypto exchanges – markets on which you can buy and sell cryptocurrencies. These exchanges often hold both customer funds and cryptocurrencies. Mt. Gox, a crypto exchange operating in Japan from 2010 to 2014, was one such. It was hugely popular and

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damage at close to half a billion dollars. Then there’s the strange case of Gerald Cotten, founder and CEO of QuadrigaCX, Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Cotten died in India in 2018, leaving a $100,000 trust fund for his two chihuahuas (Nitro and Gully, before you ask), a

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CAD$9.6 million estate to his wife, but no access to the cold wallets holding US$137 million worth of cryptocurrency for QuadrigaCX’s 110,000 customers. Whether he actually died remains an open question: the only apparent certainty is that the money from the accounts

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motley crew, don’t worry – there are some major would-be players out there, circling the porch. ______________________________________________________________________ 1 An initial coin offering (ICO) is the cryptocurrency industry’s equivalent to an initial public offering (IPO), enabling firms to raise funds to create new coins, apps or services. 2 Shorting is a

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moving fast and breaking things, give lots of ‘likes’ () to Facebook’s foray into crypto. In June 2019, Facebook announced plans to issue its own cryptocurrency, the Libra. Garnering front-page headlines in all the business dailies, Libra’s mission statement was a bold one: ‘A simple global currency and financial

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stage right, just a few months before Facebook. Oddly though, that bank is led by a man who hadn’t previously shown great enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies: Jamie Dimon, president of JPMorgan. Dimon had previously stated that Bitcoin was a ‘terrible store of value’, that it wouldn’t survive and that

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: ‘I didn’t want to be the spokesman against Bitcoin. I don’t really give a shit – that’s the point, OK?’ Not all cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin and not all digital currencies are crypto. So, OK, perhaps it wasn’t that much of a volte-face when JPMorgan jumped into

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the crypto craze. The company followed a different direction from Facebook, announcing at the offset that its cryptocurrency would be a bank-backed stablecoin – pegged directly to, and backed one-to-one by, the US dollar. Unlike Libra, JPM Coin appeared to

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the price volatility, as CBDCs would be denominated in existing units of account. As the Libra Association belatedly realised, if we are all to adopt cryptocurrencies, they will have to be denominated in national units. So, dollars in the USA, sterling in the UK and so on. A CBDC would

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be less risky than other cryptocurrencies as its value would be guaranteed by the central bank that issues it. You can think of it as a digital banknote: whoever holds it

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tool for effecting monetary policy. If it sounds too good to be true, indeed it is, at least as many central banks see it. First, cryptocurrencies are anonymous and therefore a criminal’s dream. This is exactly the business central banks are trying to leave by phasing out high-denomination banknotes

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euro), as described in Chapter 4. In Venezuela, where many citizens don’t trust the government or the currency, President Maduro’s government introduced a cryptocurrency in February 2018, albeit for altogether different reasons. In 2017, the USA had brought in sanctions that excluded Venezuela from the international banking system because

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to dive straight in and issue CBDCs, they don’t want to be left behind –and they certainly would not want ‘competing’ central banks or cryptocurrencies to take the lead. The USA would be mortified at the prospect of a ‘yuanisation’ of Latin American economies, for example. Their ongoing (and

…

start with reducing risk. Cash is a bearer instrument, so when you lose it or it gets stolen, it’s gone. The same applies to cryptocurrencies: whoever holds the private key, holds the money. As with your cash, you might prefer to let someone else guard your CBDCs, just as

…

services or introduce a third of the global population into financial services? That central banks would seriously consider a world without cash, and experiment with cryptocurrencies? Or that payment providers such as Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Square and Adyen – some of which did not even exist ten years ago – would now

…

more than a decade old. The iPhone was introduced only in 2007, while the first Android smartphone didn’t make its debut until 2008. Cryptocurrencies came on the scene with the arrival of Bitcoin in 2009, a year in which cloud computing was but a small cloud on the horizon

…

/tt1596363/ Quote on mining as striking gold in a sandbox from: https://greatestideaever.wordpress.com/category/tales-from-the-crypto/ Figures on market capitalisation of cryptocurrencies are for 15 June 2020, taken from CoinMarketCap.com For illicit activity on Bitcoin, see: S. Foley, J.R. Karlsen and T.J. Putniņš (

…

2019). ‘Sex, drugs and Bitcoin: How much illegal activity is financed through cryptocurrencies?’, Review of Financial Studies, 32(5), 1798–835. For the link between Tether and Bitcoin. see: J. Griffin and A. Shams (2020). ‘Is Bitcoin really

…

witness-transformation/juan-c-zarates-treasurys-war; www.nytimes.com/2007/01/18/world/asia/18iht-north.4255039.html Story on Iran’s use of cryptocurrency to evade sanctions taken from: https://cointelegraph.com/news/iranian-general-calls-for-use-of-crypto-to-evade-sanctions; https://home.treasury.gov/news/press

…

28, 81–2, 86, 100, 112–14, 134, 135, 261, 269 Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) 198, 211–18, 269, 273 and Libra/Diem and cryptocurrencies 202, 204–5, 209 real-time gross settlement (RTGS) 125–32 regulations 231, 232, 233 Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) 198, 211–18, 269, 273

…

made by banks 145–6 Letters of Credit 149–51 money remitters 144, 146 regulations 144, 145, 148, 239 TransferWise 146–7 Crossan, Doug 172 cryptocurrencies 16, 37, 63, 84, 187–209, 252, 269, 270 see also Central Bank Digital Currencies CryptoHQ 187 Cuba 149–50, 211 Cunliffe, John 11

…

, 67, 119, 243, 245, 259, 260 Frankfurt Stock Exchange 166 fraud bank 261–5 card payment 46, 51, 52, 108–9 dating-app 111 cryptocurrency 199–200 detection services 56, 162 emails 110–11 and frictionless payments 170, 171–2 social media 110 free-banking era, US 208 free speech

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