12 Aug Understanding the evolving cryptocurrency market
Cryptocurrency: media sensation and investment fad? The issue is no longer whether cryptocurrency will survive, but rather how it will evolve. Each of the five key market participants— merchants and consumers, tech developers, investors, financial institutions, and regulators—will play a critical role in this process. This study will help you to learn more about this exciting new technology, as well as the strategies to best aid its growth and harness its potential.
It has been called one of the “greatest technological breakthroughs since the Internet.” It also has been called “a black hole” into which a consumer’s money could just disappear.2 The subject at hand is cryptocurrency—a medium of exchange created and stored electronically, and using encryption techniques to control the creation of monetary units and to verify the transfer of funds. Bitcoin, perhaps the most widely known example, has been a media sensation and an investment fad. But so far this new way of storing and spending value has inspired more debate than actual commerce.
Of course, not all media coverage surrounding cryptocurrency has been positive, with several high profile situations noting Bitcoin’s use in a variety of illicit contexts. Clearly this gives potential stakeholders reason for concern. However, it is our view that this simply highlights the need for constant vigilance and is not necessarily representative of the industry as a whole. We also anticipate that this will change as the industry matures.
The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of what cryptocurrency is and how much consumers know about it. In addition, we discuss potential positive uses of this new instrument. We attempt to dispel some of the myths surrounding cryptocurrency, while providing perspective on the promise and positive impact of the blockchain public ledger technology behind it. We also discuss some potential disruptive impacts of blockchain in other areas across the financial services industry.
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