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>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Virtual currency.
A logo for Bitcoin, the first decentralized cryptocurrency
The genesis block of Bitcoin's blockchain, with a note containing The
Times newspaper headline. This note has been interpreted as a comment
on the instability caused by fractional-reserve banking.[1]: 18

A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto[a] is a digital currency
designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network
that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or
bank, to uphold or maintain it.[2] It is a decentralized system for
verifying that the parties to a transaction have the money they claim
to have, eliminating the need for traditional intermediaries, such as
banks, when funds are being transferred between two entities.[3]

Individual coin ownership records are stored in a digital ledger,
which is a computerized database using strong cryptography to secure
transaction records, control the creation of additional coins, and
verify the transfer of coin ownership.[4][5][6] Despite their name,
cryptocurrencies are not considered to be currencies in the
traditional sense, and while varying treatments have been applied to
them, including classification as commodities, securities, and
currencies, cryptocurrencies are generally viewed as a distinct asset
class in practice.[7][8][9] Some crypto schemes use validators to
maintain the cryptocurrency. In a proof-of-stake model, owners put up
their tokens as collateral. In return, they get authority over the
token in proportion to the amount they stake. Generally, these token
stakers get additional ownership in the token over time via network
fees, newly minted tokens, or other such reward mechanisms.[10]

Cryptocurrency does not exist in physical form (like paper money) and
is typically not issued by a central authority. Cryptocurrencies
typically use decentralized control as opposed to a central bank
digital currency (CBDC).[11] When a cryptocurrency is minted, or
created prior to issuance, or issued by a single issuer, it is
generally considered centralized. When implemented with decentralized
control, each cryptocurrency works through distributed ledger
technology, typically a blockchain, that serves as a public financial
transaction database.[12]

The first cryptocurrency was Bitcoin, which was first released as
open-source software in 2009. As of March 2022, there were more than
9,000 other cryptocurrencies in the marketplace, of which more than 70
had a market capitalization exceeding $1 billion.[13]
History
See also: History of bitcoin

In 1983, American cryptographer David Chaum conceived of a type of
cryptographic electronic money called ecash.[14][15] Later, in 1995,
he implemented it through Digicash,[16] an early form of cryptographic
electronic payments. Digicash required user software in order to
withdraw notes from a bank and designate specific encrypted keys
before it can be sent to a recipient. This allowed the digital
currency to be untraceable by a third party.

In 1996, the National Security Agency published a paper entitled How
to Make a Mint: The Cryptography of Anonymous Electronic Cash,
describing a cryptocurrency system. The paper was first published in
an MIT mailing list[17] and later in 1997 in The American Law
Review.[18]

In 1998, Wei Dai described "b-money", an anonymous, distributed
electronic cash system.[19] Shortly thereafter, Nick Szabo described
bit gold.[20] Like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that would
follow it, bit gold (not to be confused with the later gold-based
exchange BitGold) was described as an electronic currency system which
required users to complete a proof of work function with solutions
being cryptographically put together and published.

In January 2009, Bitcoin was created by pseudonymous developer Satoshi
Nakamoto. It used SHA-256, a cryptographic hash function, in its
proof-of-work scheme.[21][22] In April 2011, Namecoin was created as
an attempt at forming a decentralized DNS. In October 2011, Litecoin
was released which used scrypt as its hash function instead of
SHA-256. Peercoin, created in August 2012, used a hybrid of
proof-of-work and proof-of-stake.[23]
See also: Cryptocurrency bubble § History

Cryptocurrency has undergone several periods of growth and retraction,
including several bubbles and market crashes, such as in 2011,
2013-2014–15, 2017-2018 and 2021–2023.[24][25]

On 6 August 2014, the UK announced its Treasury had commissioned a
study of cryptocurrencies, and what role, if any, they could play in
the UK economy. The study was also to report on whether regulation
should be considered.[26] Its final report was published in 2018,[27]
and it issued a consultation on cryptoassets and stablecoins in
January 2021.[28]

In June 2021, El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin
as legal tender, after the Legislative Assembly had voted 62–22 to
pass a bill submitted by President Nayib Bukele classifying the
cryptocurrency as such.[29]

In August 2021, Cuba followed with Resolution 215 to recognize and
regulate cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.[30]

In September 2021, the government of China, the single largest market
for cryptocurrency, declared all cryptocurrency transactions illegal.
This completed a crackdown on cryptocurrency that had previously
banned the operation of intermediaries and miners within China.[31]

On 15 September 2022, the world's second largest cryptocurrency at
that time, Ethereum transitioned its consensus mechanism from
proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) in an upgrade process
known as "the Merge". According to the Ethereum Founder, the upgrade
can cut both Ethereum's energy use and carbon-dioxide emissions by
99.9%.[32]

On 11 November 2022, FTX Trading Ltd., a cryptocurrency exchange,
which also operated a crypto hedge fund, and had been valued at $18
billion,[33] filed for bankruptcy.[34] The financial impact of the
collapse extended beyond the immediate FTX customer base, as
reported,[35] while, at a Reuters conference, financial industry
executives said that "regulators must step in to protect crypto
investors."[36] Technology analyst Avivah Litan commented on the
cryptocurrency ecosystem that "everything...needs to improve
dramatically in terms of user experience, controls, safety, customer
service."[37]
Formal definition

According to Jan Lansky, a cryptocurrency is a system that meets six
conditions:[38]

    The system does not require a central authority; its state is
maintained through distributed consensus.
    The system keeps an overview of cryptocurrency units and their ownership.
    The system defines whether new cryptocurrency units can be
created. If new cryptocurrency units can be created, the system
defines the circumstances of their origin and how to determine the
ownership of these new units.
    Ownership of cryptocurrency units can be proved exclusively
cryptographically.
    The system allows transactions to be performed in which ownership
of the cryptographic units is changed. A transaction statement can
only be issued by an entity proving the current ownership of these
units.
    If two different instructions for changing the ownership of the
same cryptographic units are simultaneously entered, the system
performs at most one of them.

In March 2018, the word cryptocurrency was added to the
Merriam-Webster Dictionary.[39]
Altcoins
Further information: List of cryptocurrencies

Tokens, cryptocurrencies, and other digital assets other than Bitcoin
are collectively known as alternative cryptocurrencies,[40][41][42]
typically shortened to "altcoins" or "alt coins",[43][44] or
disparagingly "shitcoins".[45] Paul Vigna of The Wall Street Journal
also described altcoins as "alternative versions of Bitcoin"[46] given
its role as the model protocol for altcoin designers.
The logo of Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency

Altcoins often have underlying differences when compared to Bitcoin.
For example, Litecoin aims to process a block every 2.5 minutes,
rather than Bitcoin's 10 minutes, which allows Litecoin to confirm
transactions faster than Bitcoin.[47] Another example is Ethereum,
which has smart contract functionality that allows decentralized
applications to be run on its blockchain.[48] Ethereum was the most
used blockchain in 2020, according to Bloomberg News.[49] In 2016, it
had the largest "following" of any altcoin, according to the New York
Times.[50]

Significant rallies across altcoin markets are often referred to as an
"altseason".[51][52]
Stablecoins

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable level
of purchasing power.[53] Notably, these designs are not foolproof, as
a number of stablecoins have crashed or lost their peg. For example,
on 11 May 2022, Terra's stablecoin UST fell from $1 to 26
cents.[54][55] The subsequent failure of Terraform Labs resulted in
the loss of nearly $40B invested in the Terra and Luna coins.[56] In
September 2022, South Korean prosecutors requested the issuance of an
Interpol Red Notice against the company's founder, Do Kwon.[57] In
Hong Kong, the expected regulatory framework for stablecoins in
2023/24 is being shaped and includes a few considerations.[58]
Architecture
	
This section duplicates the scope of other articles, specifically
Blockchain. Please discuss this issue on the talk page and edit it to
conform with Wikipedia's Manual of Style by replacing the section with
a link and a summary of the repeated material or by spinning off the
repeated text into an article in its own right. (August 2022)

Cryptocurrency is produced by an entire cryptocurrency system
collectively, at a rate which is defined when the system is created
and which is publicly stated. In centralized banking and economic
systems such as the US Federal Reserve System, corporate boards or
governments control the supply of currency.[citation needed] In the
case of cryptocurrency, companies or governments cannot produce new
units, and have not so far provided backing for other firms, banks or
corporate entities which hold asset value measured in it. The
underlying technical system upon which cryptocurrencies are based was
created by Satoshi Nakamoto.[59]

Within a proof-of-work system such as Bitcoin, the safety, integrity
and balance of ledgers is maintained by a community of mutually
distrustful parties referred to as miners. Miners use their computers
to help validate and timestamp transactions, adding them to the ledger
in accordance with a particular timestamping scheme.[21] In a
proof-of-stake blockchain, transactions are validated by holders of
the associated cryptocurrency, sometimes grouped together in stake
pools.

Most cryptocurrencies are designed to gradually decrease the
production of that currency, placing a cap on the total amount of that
currency that will ever be in circulation.[60] Compared with ordinary
currencies held by financial institutions or kept as cash on hand,
cryptocurrencies can be more difficult for seizure by law
enforcement.[4]
Blockchain
Main article: Blockchain

The validity of each cryptocurrency's coins is provided by a
blockchain. A blockchain is a continuously growing list of records,
called blocks, which are linked and secured using
cryptography.[59][61] Each block typically contains a hash pointer as
a link to a previous block,[61] a timestamp and transaction data.[62]
By design, blockchains are inherently resistant to modification of the
data. It is "an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions
between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent
way".[63] For use as a distributed ledger, a blockchain is typically
managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol
for validating new blocks. Once recorded, the data in any given block
cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all
subsequent blocks, which requires collusion of the network majority.

Blockchains are secure by design and are an example of a distributed
computing system with high Byzantine fault tolerance. Decentralized
consensus has therefore been achieved with a blockchain.[64]
Nodes

A node is a computer that connects to a cryptocurrency network. The
node supports the cryptocurrency's network through either relaying
transactions, validation, or hosting a copy of the blockchain. In
terms of relaying transactions, each network computer (node) has a
copy of the blockchain of the cryptocurrency it supports. When a
transaction is made, the node creating the transaction broadcasts
details of the transaction using encryption to other nodes throughout
the node network so that the transaction (and every other transaction)
is known.

Node owners are either volunteers, those hosted by the organization or
body responsible for developing the cryptocurrency blockchain network
technology, or those who are enticed to host a node to receive rewards
from hosting the node network.[65]
Timestamping

Cryptocurrencies use various timestamping schemes to "prove" the
validity of transactions added to the blockchain ledger without the
need for a trusted third party.

The first timestamping scheme invented was the proof-of-work scheme.
The most widely used proof-of-work schemes are based on SHA-256 and
scrypt.[23]

Some other hashing algorithms that are used for proof-of-work include
CryptoNote, Blake, SHA-3, and X11.

Another method is called the proof-of-stake scheme. Proof-of-stake is
a method of securing a cryptocurrency network and achieving
distributed consensus through requesting users to show ownership of a
certain amount of currency. It is different from proof-of-work systems
that run difficult hashing algorithms to validate electronic
transactions. The scheme is largely dependent on the coin, and there
is currently no standard form of it. Some cryptocurrencies use a
combined proof-of-work and proof-of-stake scheme.[23]
Mining
Hashcoin mine

On a blockchain, mining is the validation of transactions. For this
effort, successful miners obtain new cryptocurrency as a reward. The
reward decreases transaction fees by creating a complementary
incentive to contribute to the processing power of the network. The
rate of generating hashes, which validate any transaction, has been
increased by the use of specialized machines such as FPGAs and ASICs
running complex hashing algorithms like SHA-256 and scrypt.[66] This
arms race for cheaper-yet-efficient machines has existed since Bitcoin
was introduced in 2009.[66] Mining is measured by hash rate typically
in TH/s.[67]

With more people venturing into the world of virtual currency,
generating hashes for validation has become more complex over time,
forcing miners to invest increasingly large sums of money to improve
computing performance. Consequently, the reward for finding a hash has
diminished and often does not justify the investment in equipment and
cooling facilities (to mitigate the heat the equipment produces), and
the electricity required to run them.[68] Popular regions for mining
include those with inexpensive electricity, a cold climate, and
jurisdictions with clear and conducive regulations. By July 2019,
Bitcoin's electricity consumption was estimated to be approximately 7
gigawatts, around 0.2% of the global total, or equivalent to the
energy consumed nationally by Switzerland.[69]

Some miners pool resources, sharing their processing power over a
network to split the reward equally, according to the amount of work
they contributed to the probability of finding a block. A "share" is
awarded to members of the mining pool who present a valid partial
proof-of-work.

As of February 2018, the Chinese Government has halted trading of
virtual currency, banned initial coin offerings and shut down mining.
Many Chinese miners have since relocated to Canada[70] and Texas.[71]
One company is operating data centers for mining operations at
Canadian oil and gas field sites, due to low gas prices.[72] In June
2018, Hydro Quebec proposed to the provincial government to allocate
500 megawatts of power to crypto companies for mining.[73] According
to a February 2018 report from Fortune, Iceland has become a haven for
cryptocurrency miners in part because of its cheap electricity.[74]

In March 2018, the city of Plattsburgh, New York put an 18-month
moratorium on all cryptocurrency mining in an effort to preserve
natural resources and the "character and direction" of the city.[75]
In 2021, Kazakhstan became the second-biggest crypto-currency mining
country, producing 18.1% of the global exahash rate. The country built
a compound containing 50,000 computers near Ekibastuz.[76]
GPU price rise

An increase in cryptocurrency mining increased the demand for graphics
cards (GPU) in 2017.[77] The computing power of GPUs makes them
well-suited to generating hashes. Popular favorites of cryptocurrency
miners such as Nvidia's GTX 1060 and GTX 1070 graphics cards, as well
as AMD's RX 570 and RX 580 GPUs, doubled or tripled in price – or were
out of stock.[78] A GTX 1070 Ti which was released at a price of $450
sold for as much as $1,100. Another popular card, the GTX 1060 (6 GB
model) was released at an MSRP of $250, and sold for almost $500. RX
570 and RX 580 cards from AMD were out of stock for almost a year.
Miners regularly buy up the entire stock of new GPU's as soon as they
are available.[79]

Nvidia has asked retailers to do what they can when it comes to
selling GPUs to gamers instead of miners. Boris Böhles, PR manager for
Nvidia in the German region, said: "Gamers come first for Nvidia."[80]
Mining accelerator chips

Numerous companies developed dedicated crypto-mining accelerator
chips, capable of price-performance far higher than that of CPU or GPU
mining. At one point Intel marketed its own brand of crypto
accelerator chip, named Blockscale.[81]
Wallets
An example paper printable Bitcoin wallet consisting of one Bitcoin
address for receiving and the corresponding private key for spending
Main article: Cryptocurrency wallet

A cryptocurrency wallet is a means of storing the public and private
"keys" (address) or seed which can be used to receive or spend the
cryptocurrency.[82] With the private key, it is possible to write in
the public ledger, effectively spending the associated cryptocurrency.
With the public key, it is possible for others to send currency to the
wallet.

There exist multiple methods of storing keys or seed in a wallet.
These methods range from using paper wallets (which are public,
private or seed keys written on paper), to using hardware wallets
(which are hardware to store your wallet information), to a digital
wallet (which is a computer with a software hosting your wallet
information), to hosting your wallet using an exchange where
cryptocurrency is traded, or by storing your wallet information on a
digital medium such as plaintext.[83]
Anonymity
Main article: Privacy and blockchain

Bitcoin is pseudonymous, rather than anonymous; the cryptocurrency in
a wallet is not tied to a person, but rather to one or more specific
keys (or "addresses").[84] Thereby, Bitcoin owners are not immediately
identifiable, but all transactions are publicly available in the
blockchain.[85] Still, cryptocurrency exchanges are often required by
law to collect the personal information of their users.[86]

Some cryptocurrencies, such as Monero, Zerocoin, Zerocash, and
CryptoNote, implement additional measures to increase privacy, such as
by using zero-knowledge proofs.[87][88]
Economics
See also: Cryptoeconomics

Cryptocurrencies are used primarily outside banking and governmental
institutions and are exchanged over the Internet.
Block rewards

Proof-of-work cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, offer block rewards
incentives for miners. There has been an implicit belief that whether
miners are paid by block rewards or transaction fees does not affect
the security of the blockchain, but a study suggests that this may not
be the case under certain circumstances.[89]

The rewards paid to miners increase the supply of the cryptocurrency.
By making sure that verifying transactions is a costly business, the
integrity of the network can be preserved as long as benevolent nodes
control a majority of computing power. The verification algorithm
requires a lot of processing power, and thus electricity in order to
make verification costly enough to accurately validate public
blockchain. Not only do miners have to factor in the costs associated
with expensive equipment necessary to stand a chance of solving a hash
problem, they further must consider the significant amount of
electrical power in search of the solution. Generally, the block
rewards outweigh electricity and equipment costs, but this may not
always be the case.[90]

The current value, not the long-term value, of the cryptocurrency
supports the reward scheme to incentivize miners to engage in costly
mining activities.[91] In 2018, Bitcoin's design caused a 1.4% welfare
loss compared to an efficient cash system, while a cash system with 2%
money growth has a minor 0.003% welfare cost. The main source for this
inefficiency is the large mining cost, which is estimated to be US$360
million per year. This translates into users being willing to accept a
cash system with an inflation rate of 230% before being better off
using Bitcoin as a means of payment. However, the efficiency of the
Bitcoin system can be significantly improved by optimizing the rate of
coin creation and minimizing transaction fees. Another potential
improvement is to eliminate inefficient mining activities by changing
the consensus protocol altogether.[92]
Transaction fees

Transaction fees for cryptocurrency depend mainly on the supply of
network capacity at the time, versus the demand from the currency
holder for a faster transaction.[citation needed] The currency holder
can choose a specific transaction fee, while network entities process
transactions in order of highest offered fee to lowest.[citation
needed] Cryptocurrency exchanges can simplify the process for currency
holders by offering priority alternatives and thereby determine which
fee will likely cause the transaction to be processed in the requested
time.[citation needed]

For Ethereum, transaction fees differ by computational complexity,
bandwidth use, and storage needs, while Bitcoin transaction fees
differ by transaction size and whether the transaction uses SegWit. In
February 2023, the median transaction fee for Ether corresponded to
$2.2845,[93] while for Bitcoin it corresponded to $0.659.[94]

Some cryptocurrencies have no transaction fees, and instead rely on
client-side proof-of-work as the transaction prioritization and
anti-spam mechanism.[95][96][97]
Exchanges
Main article: Cryptocurrency exchange

Cryptocurrency exchanges allow customers to trade cryptocurrencies[98]
for other assets, such as conventional fiat money, or to trade between
different digital currencies.

Crypto marketplaces do not guarantee that an investor is completing a
purchase or trade at the optimal price. As a result, as of 2020 it was
possible to arbitrage to find the difference in price across several
markets.[99]
Atomic swaps

Atomic swaps are a mechanism where one cryptocurrency can be exchanged
directly for another cryptocurrency, without the need for a trusted
third party such as an exchange.[100]
ATMs
Bitcoin ATM

Jordan Kelley, founder of Robocoin, launched the first Bitcoin ATM in
the United States on 20 February 2014. The kiosk installed in Austin,
Texas, is similar to bank ATMs but has scanners to read
government-issued identification such as a driver's license or a
passport to confirm users' identities.[101]
Initial coin offerings

An initial coin offering (ICO) is a controversial means of raising
funds for a new cryptocurrency venture. An ICO may be used by startups
with the intention of avoiding regulation. However, securities
regulators in many jurisdictions, including in the U.S., and Canada,
have indicated that if a coin or token is an "investment contract"
(e.g., under the Howey test, i.e., an investment of money with a
reasonable expectation of profit based significantly on the
entrepreneurial or managerial efforts of others), it is a security and
is subject to securities regulation. In an ICO campaign, a percentage
of the cryptocurrency (usually in the form of "tokens") is sold to
early backers of the project in exchange for legal tender or other
cryptocurrencies, often Bitcoin or Ether.[102][103][104]

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, four of the 10 biggest proposed
initial coin offerings have used Switzerland as a base, where they are
frequently registered as non-profit foundations. The Swiss regulatory
agency FINMA stated that it would take a "balanced approach" to ICO
projects and would allow "legitimate innovators to navigate the
regulatory landscape and so launch their projects in a way consistent
with national laws protecting investors and the integrity of the
financial system." In response to numerous requests by industry
representatives, a legislative ICO working group began to issue legal
guidelines in 2018, which are intended to remove uncertainty from
cryptocurrency offerings and to establish sustainable business
practices.[105]
Price trends

The market capitalization of a cryptocurrency is calculated by
multiplying the price by the number of coins in circulation. The total
cryptocurrency market cap has historically been dominated by Bitcoin
accounting for at least 50% of the market cap value where altcoins
have increased and decreased in market cap value in relation to
Bitcoin. Bitcoin's value is largely determined by speculation among
other technological limiting factors known as blockchain rewards coded
into the architecture technology of Bitcoin itself. The cryptocurrency
market cap follows a trend known as the "halving", which is when the
block rewards received from Bitcoin are halved due to technological
mandated limited factors instilled into Bitcoin which in turn limits
the supply of Bitcoin. As the date reaches near of a halving (twice
thus far historically) the cryptocurrency market cap increases,
followed by a downtrend.[106]

By June 2021, cryptocurrency had begun to be offered by some wealth
managers in the US for 401(k)s.[107][108][109]
Volatility

Cryptocurrency prices are much more volatile than established
financial assets such as stocks. For example, over one week in May
2022, Bitcoin lost 20% of its value and Ethereum lost 26%, while
Solana and Cardano lost 41% and 35% respectively. The falls were
attributed to warnings about inflation. By comparison, in the same
week, the Nasdaq tech stock index fell 7.6 per cent and the FTSE 100
was 3.6 per cent down.[110]

In the longer term, of the 10 leading cryptocurrencies identified by
the total value of coins in circulation in January 2018, only four
(Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano and Ripple (XRP)) were still in that
position in early 2022.[111] The total value of all cryptocurrencies
was $2 trillion at the end of 2021, but had halved nine months
later.[112][113] The Wall Street Journal has commented that the crypto
sector has become "intertwined" with the rest of the capital markets
and "sensitive to the same forces that drive tech stocks and other
risk assets", such as inflation forecasts.[114]
Databases

There are also centralized databases, outside of blockchains, that
store crypto market data. Compared to the blockchain, databases
perform fast as there is no verification process. Four of the most
popular cryptocurrency market databases are CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko,
BraveNewCoin, and Cryptocompare.[115]
Social and political aspects
See also: Crypto-anarchism and Cypherpunk

According to Alan Feuer of The New York Times, libertarians and
anarcho-capitalists were attracted to the philosophical idea behind
Bitcoin. Early Bitcoin supporter Roger Ver said: "At first, almost
everyone who got involved did so for philosophical reasons. We saw
Bitcoin as a great idea, as a way to separate money from the
state."[116] Economist Paul Krugman argues that cryptocurrencies like
Bitcoin are "something of a cult" based in "paranoid fantasies" of
government power.[117]

David Golumbia says that the ideas influencing Bitcoin advocates
emerge from right-wing extremist movements such as the Liberty Lobby
and the John Birch Society and their anti-Central Bank rhetoric, or,
more recently, Ron Paul and Tea Party-style libertarianism.[118] Steve
Bannon, who owns a "good stake" in Bitcoin, sees cryptocurrency as a
form of disruptive populism, taking control back from central
authorities.[119]

Bitcoin's founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, has supported the idea that
cryptocurrencies go well with libertarianism. "It's very attractive to
the libertarian viewpoint if we can explain it properly," Nakamoto
said in 2008.[120]

According to the European Central Bank, the decentralization of money
offered by Bitcoin has its theoretical roots in the Austrian school of
economics, especially with Friedrich von Hayek in his book
Denationalisation of Money: The Argument Refined,[121] in which Hayek
advocates a complete free market in the production, distribution and
management of money to end the monopoly of central banks.[122]
Increasing regulation

The rise in the popularity of cryptocurrencies and their adoption by
financial institutions has led some governments to assess whether
regulation is needed to protect users. The Financial Action Task Force
(FATF) has defined cryptocurrency-related services as "virtual asset
service providers" (VASPs) and recommended that they be regulated with
the same money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC)
requirements as financial institutions.[123]

In May 2020, the Joint Working Group on interVASP Messaging Standards
published "IVMS 101", a universal common language for communication of
required originator and beneficiary information between VASPs. The
FATF and financial regulators were informed as the data model was
developed.[124]

In June 2020, FATF updated its guidance to include the "Travel Rule"
for cryptocurrencies, a measure which mandates that VASPs obtain,
hold, and exchange information about the originators and beneficiaries
of virtual asset transfers.[125] Subsequent standardized protocol
specifications recommended using JSON for relaying data between VASPs
and identity services. As of December 2020, the IVMS 101 data model
has yet to be finalized and ratified by the three global standard
setting bodies that created it.[126]

The European Commission published a digital finance strategy in
September 2020. This included a draft regulation on Markets in
Crypto-Assets (MiCA), which aimed to provide a comprehensive
regulatory framework for digital assets in the EU.[127][128]

On 10 June 2021, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision proposed
that banks that held cryptocurrency assets must set aside capital to
cover all potential losses. For instance, if a bank were to hold
Bitcoin worth $2 billion, it would be required to set aside enough
capital to cover the entire $2 billion. This is a more extreme
standard than banks are usually held to when it comes to other assets.
However, this is a proposal and not a regulation.

The IMF is seeking a coordinated, consistent and comprehensive
approach to supervising cryptocurrencies. Tobias Adrian, the IMF's
financial counsellor and head of its monetary and capital markets
department said in a January 2022 interview that "Agreeing global
regulations is never quick. But if we start now, we can achieve the
goal of maintaining financial stability while also enjoying the
benefits which the underlying technological innovations bring,"[129]
United States

In 2021, 17 states passed laws and resolutions concerning
cryptocurrency regulation.[130] The U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) is considering what steps to take. On 8 July 2021,
Senator Elizabeth Warren, part of the Senate Banking Committee, wrote
to the chairman of the SEC and demanded answers on cryptocurrency
regulation due to the increase in cryptocurrency exchange use and the
danger this posed to consumers. On August 5, 2021, SEC Chairman Gary
Gensler responded to Senator Elizabeth Warren's letter regarding
cryptocurrency regulation and called for legislation focused on
"crypto trading, lending and DeFi platforms," because of how
vulnerable the investors could be when they traded on crypto trading
platforms without a broker. He also argued that many tokens in the
crypto market may be unregistered securities without required
disclosures or market oversight. Additionally, Gensler did not hold
back in his criticism of stablecoins. These tokens, which are pegged
to the value of fiat currencies, may allow individuals to bypass
important public policy goals related to traditional banking and
financial systems, such as anti-money laundering, tax compliance, and
sanctions.[131]

On October 19, 2021, The first bitcoin-linked exchange-traded fund
(ETF) from ProShares started trading on the NYSE under the ticker
"BITO." ProShares CEO Michael L. Sapir said the ETF would expose
Bitcoin to a wider range of investors without the hassle of setting up
accounts with cryptocurrency providers. Ian Balina, the CEO of Token
Metrics, stated that the approval of the "BITO" ETF by the SEC was a
significant endorsement for the crypto industry because many
regulators globally were not in favor of crypto as well as the
hesitance to accept crypto from retail investors. This event would
eventually open more opportunities for new capital and new people in
this space.[132]

The United States Department of the Treasury, on May 20, 2021,
announced that it would require any transfer worth $10,000 or more to
be reported to the Internal Revenue Service since cryptocurrency
already posed a problem where illegal activity like tax evasion was
facilitated broadly. This release from the IRS was a part of efforts
to promote better compliance and consider more severe penalties for
tax evaders.[133]

On 17 February 2022, the Justice department named Eun Young Choi as
the first director of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team to
aid in identification of and dealing with misuse of cryptocurrencies
and other digital assets.[134]

The Biden administration faced a dilemma as it tried to develop
regulations for the cryptocurrency industry. On one hand, officials
were hesitant to restrict the growing and profitable industry. On the
other hand, they were committed to preventing illegal cryptocurrency
transactions. To reconcile these conflicting goals, on March 9, 2022,
President Biden issued an executive order.[135] Followed by the
executive order, on September 16, 2022, the Comprehensive Framework
for Responsible Development of Digital Assets document was released
[136] to support development of cryptocurrencies and restrict their
illegal use. The executive order included all digital assets, but
cryptocurrencies posed both the greatest security risks and potential
economic benefits. Though this might not address all of the challenges
in crypto industry, it was a significant milestone in the U.S.
cryptocurrency regulation history.[137]

In February 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruled
that cryptocurrency exchange Kraken's estimated $42 billion in staked
assets globally operated as an illegal securities seller. The company
agreed to a $30 million settlement with the SEC and to cease selling
its staking service in the U.S. The case would impact other major
crypto exchanges operating staking programs.[138]

On March 23, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
issued an alert to investors stating that firms offering crypto asset
securities may not be complying with U.S. laws. The SEC stated that
unregistered offerings of crypto asset securities may not include
important information.[139]
China

In September 2017, China banned ICOs to cause abnormal return from
cryptocurrency decreasing during announcement window. The liquidity
changes by banning ICOs in China was temporarily negative while the
liquidity effect became positive after news.[140]

On 18 May 2021, China banned financial institutions and payment
companies from being able to provide cryptocurrency transaction
related services.[141] This led to a sharp fall in the price of the
biggest proof of work cryptocurrencies. For instance, Bitcoin fell
31%, Ethereum fell 44%, Binance Coin fell 32% and Dogecoin fell
30%.[142] Proof of work mining was the next focus, with regulators in
popular mining regions citing the use of electricity generated from
highly polluting sources such as coal to create Bitcoin and
Ethereum.[143]

In September 2021, the Chinese government declared all cryptocurrency
transactions of any kind illegal, completing its crackdown on
cryptocurrency.[31]
United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, as of 10 January 2021, all cryptocurrency
firms, such as exchanges, advisors and professionals that have either
a presence, market product or provide services within the UK market
must register with the Financial Conduct Authority. Additionally, on
27 June 2021, the financial watchdog demanded that Binance, the
world's largest cryptocurrency exchange,[144] cease all regulated
activities in the UK.[145]
South Africa

South Africa, which has seen a large number of scams related to
cryptocurrency, is said to be putting a regulatory timeline in place
that will produce a regulatory framework.[146] The largest scam
occurred in April 2021, where the two founders of an African-based
cryptocurrency exchange called Africrypt, Raees Cajee and Ameer Cajee,
disappeared with $3.8 billion worth of Bitcoin.[147] Additionally,
Mirror Trading International disappeared with $170 million worth of
cryptocurrency in January 2021.[147]
South Korea

In March 2021, South Korea implemented new legislation to strengthen
their oversight of digital assets. This legislation requires all
digital asset managers, providers and exchanges to be registered with
the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit in order to operate in South
Korea.[148] Registering with this unit requires that all exchanges are
certified by the Information Security Management System and that they
ensure all customers have real name bank accounts. It also requires
that the CEO and board members of the exchanges have not been
convicted of any crimes and that the exchange holds sufficient levels
of deposit insurance to cover losses arising from hacks.[148]
Turkey

On 30 April 2021, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey banned
the use of cryptocurrencies and cryptoassets for making purchases on
the grounds that the use of cryptocurrencies for such payments poses
significant transaction risks.[149]
El Salvador

On 9 June 2021, El Salvador announced that it will adopt Bitcoin as
legal tender, the first country to do so.[150]
India

At present, India neither prohibits nor allows investment in the
cryptocurrency market. In 2020, the Supreme Court of India had lifted
the ban on cryptocurrency, which was imposed by the Reserve Bank of
India.[151][152][153][154] Since then, an investment in cryptocurrency
is considered legitimate, though there is still ambiguity about the
issues regarding the extent and payment of tax on the income accrued
thereupon and also its regulatory regime. But it is being contemplated
that the Indian Parliament will soon pass a specific law to either ban
or regulate the cryptocurrency market in India.[155] Expressing his
public policy opinion on the Indian cryptocurrency market to a
well-known online publication, a leading public policy lawyer and Vice
President of SAARCLAW (South Asian Association for Regional
Co-operation in Law) Hemant Batra has said that the "cryptocurrency
market has now become very big with involvement of billions of dollars
in the market hence, it is now unattainable and irreconcilable for the
government to completely ban all sorts of cryptocurrency and its
trading and investment".[156] He mooted regulating the cryptocurrency
market rather than completely banning it. He favoured following IMF
and FATF guidelines in this regard.
Switzerland

Switzerland was one of the first countries to implement the FATF's
Travel Rule. FINMA, the Swiss regulator, issued its own guidance to
VASPs in 2019. The guidance followed the FATF's Recommendation 16,
however with stricter requirements. According to FINMA's[157]
requirements, VASPs need to verify the identity of the beneficiary of
the transfer.
Legality
Main article: Legality of cryptocurrency by country or territory

The legal status of cryptocurrencies varies substantially from country
to country and is still undefined or changing in many of them. At
least one study has shown that broad generalizations about the use of
Bitcoin in illicit finance are significantly overstated and that
blockchain analysis is an effective crime fighting and intelligence
gathering tool.[158] While some countries have explicitly allowed
their use and trade,[159] others have banned or restricted it.
According to the Library of Congress in 2018, an "absolute ban" on
trading or using cryptocurrencies applies in eight countries: Algeria,
Bolivia, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, and the United Arab
Emirates. An "implicit ban" applies in another 15 countries, which
include Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic,
Georgia, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Lesotho, Lithuania, Macau, Oman,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan.[160] In the United States and Canada,
state and provincial securities regulators, coordinated through the
North American Securities Administrators Association, are
investigating "Bitcoin scams" and ICOs in 40 jurisdictions.[161]

Various government agencies, departments, and courts have classified
Bitcoin differently. China Central Bank banned the handling of
Bitcoins by financial institutions in China in early 2014.

In Russia, though owning cryptocurrency is legal, its residents are
only allowed to purchase goods from other residents using the Russian
ruble while nonresidents are allowed to use foreign currency.[162]
Regulations and bans that apply to Bitcoin probably extend to similar
cryptocurrency systems.[163]

In August 2018, the Bank of Thailand announced its plans to create its
own cryptocurrency, the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).[164]
Advertising bans

Cryptocurrency advertisements have been banned on the following platforms:

    Google[165] - Ended August 2021[166]
    Twitter[165]
    Facebook[165] - Ended December 2021[167]
    Bing[168] - Ended June 2022[169]
    Snapchat
    LinkedIn[170]
    MailChimp[171]
    Baidu
    Tencent
    Weibo
    Line
    Yandex[170]

U.S. tax status

On 25 March 2014, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
ruled that Bitcoin will be treated as property for tax purposes.
Therefore, virtual currencies are considered commodities subject to
capital gains tax.[172]
Legal concerns relating to an unregulated global economy

As the popularity and demand for online currencies has increased since
the inception of Bitcoin in 2009,[173] so have concerns that such an
unregulated person to person global economy that cryptocurrencies
offer may become a threat to society. Concerns abound that altcoins
may become tools for anonymous web criminals.[174]

Cryptocurrency networks display a lack of regulation that has been
criticized as enabling criminals who seek to evade taxes and launder
money. Money laundering issues are also present in regular bank
transfers, however with bank-to-bank wire transfers for instance, the
account holder must at least provide a proven identity.

Transactions that occur through the use and exchange of these altcoins
are independent from formal banking systems, and therefore can make
tax evasion simpler for individuals. Since charting taxable income is
based upon what a recipient reports to the revenue service, it becomes
extremely difficult to account for transactions made using existing
cryptocurrencies, a mode of exchange that is complex and difficult to
track.[174]

Systems of anonymity that most cryptocurrencies offer can also serve
as a simpler means to launder money. Rather than laundering money
through an intricate net of financial actors and offshore bank
accounts, laundering money through altcoins can be achieved through
anonymous transactions.[174]

Cryptocurrency makes legal enforcement against extremist groups more
complicated, which consequently strengthens them.[175] White
supremacist Richard Spencer went as far as to declare Bitcoin the
"currency of the alt-right".[176]
Loss, theft, and fraud
Main article: Cryptocurrency and crime

In February 2014, the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox,
declared bankruptcy. Likely due to theft, the company claimed that it
had lost nearly 750,000 Bitcoins belonging to their clients. This
added up to approximately 7% of all Bitcoins in existence, worth a
total of $473 million. Mt. Gox blamed hackers, who had exploited the
transaction malleability problems in the network. The price of a
Bitcoin fell from a high of about $1,160 in December to under $400 in
February.[177]

On 21 November 2017, Tether announced that it had been hacked, losing
$31 million in USDT from its core treasury wallet.[178]

On 7 December 2017, Slovenian cryptocurrency exchange Nicehash
reported that hackers had stolen over $70M using a hijacked company
computer.[179]

On 19 December 2017, Yapian, the owner of South Korean exchange
Youbit, filed for bankruptcy after suffering two hacks that
year.[180][181] Customers were still granted access to 75% of their
assets.

In May 2018, Bitcoin Gold had its transactions hijacked and abused by
unknown hackers.[182] Exchanges lost an estimated $18m and Bitcoin
Gold was delisted from Bittrex after it refused to pay its share of
the damages.

On 13 September 2018, Homero Josh Garza was sentenced to 21 months of
imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.[183]
Garza had founded the cryptocurrency startups GAW Miners and ZenMiner
in 2014, acknowledged in a plea agreement that the companies were part
of a pyramid scheme, and pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2015. The
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission separately brought a civil
enforcement action against Garza, who was eventually ordered to pay a
judgment of $9.1 million plus $700,000 in interest. The SEC's
complaint stated that Garza, through his companies, had fraudulently
sold "investment contracts representing shares in the profits they
claimed would be generated" from mining.[184]

In January 2018, Japanese exchange Coincheck reported that hackers had
stolen $530M worth of cryptocurrencies.[185]

In June 2018, South Korean exchange Coinrail was hacked, losing over
$37M worth of cryptos.[186] The hack worsened an already ongoing
cryptocurrency selloff by an additional $42 billion.[187]

On 9 July 2018, the exchange Bancor, whose code and fundraising had
been subjects of controversy, had $23.5 million in cryptocurrency
stolen.[188]

A 2020 EU report found that users had lost crypto-assets worth
hundreds of millions of US dollars in security breaches at exchanges
and storage providers. Between 2011 and 2019, reported breaches ranged
from four to twelve a year. In 2019, more than a billion dollars worth
of cryptoassets was reported stolen. Stolen assets "typically find
their way to illegal markets and are used to fund further criminal
activity".[189]

According to a 2020 report produced by the United States Attorney
General's Cyber-Digital Task Force, the following three categories
make up the majority of illicit cryptocurrency uses: "(1) financial
transactions associated with the commission of crimes; (2) money
laundering and the shielding of legitimate activity from tax,
reporting, or other legal requirements; or (3) crimes, such as theft,
directly implicating the cryptocurrency marketplace itself." The
report concludes that "for cryptocurrency to realize its truly
transformative potential, it is imperative that these risks be
addressed" and that "the government has legal and regulatory tools
available at its disposal to confront the threats posed by
cryptocurrency's illicit uses".[190][191]

According to the UK 2020 national risk assessment—a comprehensive
assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risk in the
UK—the risk of using cryptoassets such as Bitcoin for money laundering
and terrorism financing is assessed as "medium" (from "low" in the
previous 2017 report).[192] Legal scholars suggested that the money
laundering opportunities may be more perceived than real.[193]
Blockchain analysis company Chainalysis concluded that illicit
activities like cybercrime, money laundering and terrorism financing
made up only 0.15% of all crypto transactions conducted in 2021,
representing a total of $14 billion.[194][195][196]

In December 2021, Monkey Kingdom - a NFT project based in Hong Kong
lost US$1.3 million worth of cryptocurrencies via a phishing link used
by the hacker.[197]
Money laundering
See also: Cryptocurrency and crime

According to blockchain data company Chainalysis, criminals laundered
US$8,600,000,000 worth of cryptocurrency in 2021, up by 30% from the
previous year.[198] The data suggests that rather than managing
numerous illicit havens, cybercriminals make use of a small group of
purpose built centralized exchanges for sending and receiving illicit
cryptocurrency. In 2021, those exchanges received 47% of funds sent by
crime linked addresses.[199] Almost $2.2bn worth of cryptocurrencies
was embezzled from DeFi protocols in 2021, which represents 72% of all
cryptocurrency theft in 2021.

According to Bloomberg and the New York Times, Federation Tower, a two
skyscraper complex in the heart of Moscow City, is home to many
cryptocurrency businesses under suspicion of facilitating extensive
money laundering, including accepting illicit cryptocurrency funds
obtained through scams, darknet markets, and ransomware.[200] Notable
businesses include Garantex, Eggchange, Cashbank, Buy-Bitcoin,
Tetchange, Bitzlato, and Suex, which was sanctioned by the U.S. in
2021. Bitzlato founder and owner Anatoly Legkodymov was arrested
following money-laundering charges by the United States Department of
Justice.[201]

Dark money has also been flowing into Russia through a dark web
marketplace called Hydra, which is powered by cryptocurrency, and
enjoyed more than $1 billion in sales in 2020, according to
Chainalysis.[202] The platform demands that sellers liquidate
cryptocurrency only through certain regional exchanges, which has made
it difficult for investigators to trace the money.

Almost 74% of ransomware revenue in 2021 — over $400 million worth of
cryptocurrency — went to software strains likely affiliated with
Russia, where oversight is notoriously limited.[200] However, Russians
are also leaders in the benign adoption of cryptocurrencies, as the
ruble is unreliable, and President Putin favours the idea of
"overcoming the excessive domination of the limited number of reserve
currencies."[203]

In 2022, RenBridge - an unregulated alternative to exchanges for
transferring value between blockchains - was found to be responsible
for the laundering of at least $540 million since 2020. It is
especially popular with people attempting to launder money from theft.
This includes a cyberattack on Japanese crypto exchange Liquid that
has been linked to North Korea.[204]
Darknet markets
Main article: Darknet market

Properties of cryptocurrencies gave them popularity in applications
such as a safe haven in banking crises and means of payment, which
also led to the cryptocurrency use in controversial settings in the
form of online black markets, such as Silk Road.[174] The original
Silk Road was shut down in October 2013 and there have been two more
versions in use since then. In the year following the initial shutdown
of Silk Road, the number of prominent dark markets increased from four
to twelve, while the amount of drug listings increased from 18,000 to
32,000.[174]

Darknet markets present challenges in regard to legality.
Cryptocurrency used in dark markets are not clearly or legally
classified in almost all parts of the world. In the U.S., Bitcoins are
labelled as "virtual assets".[citation needed] This type of ambiguous
classification puts pressure on law enforcement agencies around the
world to adapt to the shifting drug trade of dark
markets.[205][unreliable source?]
Wash trades

Various studies have found that crypto-trading is rife with wash
trading. Wash trading is a process, illegal in some jurisdictions,
involving buyers and sellers being the same person or group, and may
be used to manipulate the price of a cryptocurrency or inflate volume
artificially. Exchanges with higher volumes can demand higher premiums
from token issuers.[206] A study from 2019 concluded that up to 80% of
trades on unregulated cryptocurrency exchanges could be wash
trades.[206] A 2019 report by Bitwise Asset Management claimed that
95% of all Bitcoin trading volume reported on major website
CoinMarketCap had been artificially generated, and of 81 exchanges
studied, only 10 provided legitimate volume figures.[207]
As a tool to evade sanctions

In 2022, cryptocurrencies attracted attention when Western nations
imposed severe economic sanctions on Russia in the aftermath of its
invasion of Ukraine in February. However, American sources warned in
March that some crypto-transactions could potentially be used to evade
economic sanctions against Russia and Belarus.[208]

In April 2022, the computer programmer Virgil Griffith received a
five-year prison sentence in the US for attending a Pyongyang
cryptocurrency conference, where he gave a presentation on blockchains
which might be used for sanctions evasion.[209]
Impacts and analysis
External video
video icon Cryptocurrencies: looking beyond the hype, Hyun Song Shin,
Bank for International Settlements, 2:48[210]

The Bank for International Settlements summarized several criticisms
of cryptocurrencies in Chapter V of their 2018 annual report. The
criticisms include the lack of stability in their price, the high
energy consumption, high and variable transactions costs, the poor
security and fraud at cryptocurrency exchanges, vulnerability to
debasement (from forking), and the influence of miners.[210][211][212]
Speculation, fraud, and adoption
See also: Cryptocurrency bubble, Cryptocurrency and crime, and
Criminal activity on Bitcoin's network

Cryptocurrencies have been compared to Ponzi schemes, pyramid
schemes[213] and economic bubbles,[214] such as housing market
bubbles.[215] Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management stated in
2017 that digital currencies were "nothing but an unfounded fad (or
perhaps even a pyramid scheme), based on a willingness to ascribe
value to something that has little or none beyond what people will pay
for it", and compared them to the tulip mania (1637), South Sea Bubble
(1720), and dot-com bubble (1999), which all experienced profound
price booms and busts.[216]

Regulators in several countries have warned against cryptocurrency and
some have taken measures to dissuade users.[217] However, research in
2021 by the UK's financial regulator suggests such warnings either
went unheard, or were ignored. Fewer than one in 10 potential
cryptocurrency buyers were aware of consumer warnings on the FCA
website, and 12% of crypto users were not aware that their holdings
were not protected by statutory compensation.[218][219] Of 1,000
respondents between the ages of eighteen and forty, almost 70% falsely
assumed cryptocurrencies were regulated, 75% of younger crypto
investors claimed to be driven by competition with friends and family,
58% said that social media enticed them to make high risk
investments.[220] The FCA recommends making use of its warning list,
which flags unauthorized financial firms.[221]

Many banks do not offer virtual currency services themselves and can
refuse to do business with virtual currency companies.[222] In 2014,
Gareth Murphy, a senior banking officer, suggested that the widespread
adoption of cryptocurrencies may lead to too much money being
obfuscated, blinding economists who would use such information to
better steer the economy.[223] While traditional financial products
have strong consumer protections in place, there is no intermediary
with the power to limit consumer losses if Bitcoins are lost or
stolen. One of the features cryptocurrency lacks in comparison to
credit cards, for example, is consumer protection against fraud, such
as chargebacks.

The French regulator Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) lists 16
websites of companies that solicit investment in cryptocurrency
without being authorized to do so in France.[224]

An October 2021 paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research
found that Bitcoin suffers from systemic risk as the top 10,000
addresses control about one-third of all Bitcoin in circulation.[225]
It is even worse for Bitcoin miners, with 0.01% controlling 50% of the
capacity. According to researcher Flipside Crypto, less than 2% of
anonymous accounts control 95% of all available Bitcoin supply.[226]
This is considered risky as a great deal of the market is in the hands
of a few entities.

A paper by John Griffin, a finance professor at the University of
Texas, and Amin Shams, a graduate student found that in 2017 the price
of Bitcoin had been substantially inflated using another
cryptocurrency, Tether.[227]

Roger Lowenstein, author of "Bank of America: The Epic Struggle to
Create the Federal Reserve," says in a New York Times story that FTX
will face over $8 billion in claims.[228]
Non-fungible tokens

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are digital assets that represent art,
collectibles, gaming, etc. Like crypto, their data is stored on the
blockchain. NFTs are bought and traded using cryptocurrency. The
Ethereum blockchain was the first place where NFTs were implemented,
but now many other blockchains have created their own versions of
NFTs. The popularity of NFTs has increased since 2021.[229]
Banks

As the first big Wall Street bank to embrace cryptocurrencies, Morgan
Stanley announced on 17 March 2021 that they will be offering access
to Bitcoin funds for their wealthy clients through three funds which
enable Bitcoin ownership for investors with an aggressive risk
tolerance.[230] BNY Mellon on 11 February 2021 announced that it would
begin offering cryptocurrency services to its clients.[231]

On 20 April 2021,[232] Venmo added support to its platform to enable
customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies.[233]

In October 2021, financial services company Mastercard announced it is
working with digital asset manager Bakkt on a platform that would
allow any bank or merchant on the Mastercard network to offer
cryptocurrency services.[234]
Environmental impact
See also: Environmental effects of bitcoin

Mining for proof-of-work cryptocurrencies requires enormous amounts of
electricity and consequently comes with a large carbon footprint due
to causing greenhouse gas emissions.[235] Proof-of-work blockchains
such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Monero were estimated to have
added between 3 million and 15 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) to
the atmosphere in the period from 1 January 2016 to 30 June 2017.[236]
By November 2018, Bitcoin was estimated to have an annual energy
consumption of 45.8TWh, generating 22.0 to 22.9 million tons of CO2,
rivalling nations like Jordan and Sri Lanka.[237] By the end of 2021,
Bitcoin was estimated to produce 65.4 million tons of CO2, as much as
Greece,[238] and consume between 91 and 177 terawatt-hours
annually.[239][240]

Critics have also identified a large electronic waste problem in
disposing of mining rigs.[241] Mining hardware is improving at a fast
rate, quickly resulting in older generations of hardware.[242]

Bitcoin is the least energy-efficient cryptocurrency, using 707.6
kilowatt-hours of electricity per transaction.[243]

Before June 2021, China was the primary location for Bitcoin mining.
However, due to concerns over power usage and other factors, China
forced out Bitcoin operations, at least temporarily. As a result, the
United States promptly emerged as the top global leader in the
industry. An example of a gross amount of electronic waste associated
with Bitcoin mining operations in the USA is a facility that located
in Dalton, Georgia which is consuming nearly the same amount of
electricity as the combined power usage of 97,000 households in its
vicinity. Another example is that Riot Platforms operates a Bitcoin
mining facility in Rockdale, Texas, which consumes approximately as
much electricity as the nearby 300,000 households. This makes it the
most energy-intensive Bitcoin mining operation in the United
States.[244]

The world's second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, uses 62.56
kilowatt-hours of electricity per transaction.[245] XRP is the world's
most energy efficient cryptocurrency, using 0.0079 kilowatt-hours of
electricity per transaction.[246]

Although the biggest PoW blockchains consume energy on the scale of
medium-sized countries, the annual power demand from proof-of-stake
(PoS) blockchains is on a scale equivalent to a housing estate. The
Times identified six "environmentally friendly" cryptocurrencies:
Chia, IOTA, Cardano, Nano, Solarcoin and Bitgreen.[247] Academics and
researchers have used various methods for estimating the energy use
and energy efficiency of blockchains. A study of the six largest
proof-of-stake networks in May 2021 concluded:

    Cardano has the lowest electricity use per node;
    Polkadot has the lowest electricity use overall; and
    Solana has the lowest electricity use per transaction.

In terms of annual consumption (kWh/yr), the figures were: Polkadot
(70,237), Tezos (113,249), Avalanche (489,311), Algorand (512,671),
Cardano (598,755) and Solana (1,967,930). This equates to Polkadot
consuming 7 times the electricity of an average U.S. home, Cardano 57
homes and Solana 200 times as much. The research concluded that PoS
networks consumed 0.001% the electricity of the Bitcoin network.[248]
University College London researchers reached a similar
conclusion.[249]

Variable renewable energy power stations could invest in Bitcoin
mining to reduce curtailment, hedge electricity price risk, stabilize
the grid, increase the profitability of renewable energy power
stations and therefore accelerate transition to sustainable
energy.[250][251][252][253][254]
Technological limitations

There are also purely technical elements to consider. For example,
technological advancement in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin result
in high up-front costs to miners in the form of specialized hardware
and software.[255] Cryptocurrency transactions are normally
irreversible after a number of blocks confirm the transaction.
Additionally, cryptocurrency private keys can be permanently lost from
local storage due to malware, data loss or the destruction of the
physical media. This precludes the cryptocurrency from being spent,
resulting in its effective removal from the markets.[256]
Academic studies
Main article: Ledger (journal)

In September 2015, the establishment of the peer-reviewed academic
journal Ledger (ISSN 2379-5980) was announced. It covers studies of
cryptocurrencies and related technologies, and is published by the
University of Pittsburgh.[257]

The journal encourages authors to digitally sign a file hash of
submitted papers, which will then be timestamped into the Bitcoin
blockchain. Authors are also asked to include a personal Bitcoin
address in the first page of their papers.[258][259]
Aid agencies

A number of aid agencies have started accepting donations in
cryptocurrencies, including UNICEF.[260] Christopher Fabian, principal
adviser at UNICEF Innovation, said the children's fund would uphold
donor protocols, meaning that people making donations online would
have to pass checks before they were allowed to deposit
funds.[261][262]

However, in 2021, there was a backlash against donations in Bitcoin
because of the environmental emissions it caused. Some agencies
stopped accepting Bitcoin and others turned to "greener"
cryptocurrencies.[263] The U.S. arm of Greenpeace stopped accepting
bitcoin donations after seven years. It said: "As the amount of energy
needed to run Bitcoin became clearer, this policy became no longer
tenable."[264]

In 2022, the Ukrainian government raised over US$10,000,000 worth of
aid through cryptocurrency following the 2022 Russian invasion of
Ukraine.[265]
Criticism

Bitcoin has been characterized as a speculative bubble by eight
winners of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences: Paul
Krugman,[266] Robert J. Shiller,[267] Joseph Stiglitz,[268] Richard
Thaler,[269] James Heckman,[270] Thomas Sargent,[270] Angus
Deaton,[270] and Oliver Hart;[270] and by central bank officials
including Alan Greenspan,[271] Agustín Carstens,[272] Vítor
Constâncio,[273] and Nout Wellink.[274]

The investors Warren Buffett and George Soros have respectively
characterized it as a "mirage"[275] and a "bubble";[276] while the
business executives Jack Ma and J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon have
called it a "bubble"[277] and a "fraud",[278] respectively, although
Jamie Dimon later said he regretted dubbing Bitcoin a fraud.[279]
BlackRock CEO Laurence D. Fink called Bitcoin an "index of money
laundering".[280]

In June 2022, Bill Gates said that cryptocurrencies are "100% based on
greater fool theory".[281]

Legal scholars criticize the lack of regulation, which hinders
conflict resolution when crypto assets are at the center of a legal
dispute, for example a divorce or an inheritance. In Switzerland,
jurists generally deny that cryptocurrencies are objects that fall
under property law, as cryptocurrencies do not belong to any class of
legally defined objects (Typenzwang, the legal numerus clausus).
Therefore, it is debated whether anybody could even be sued for
embezzlement of cryptocurrency if he/she had access to someone's
wallet. However, in the law of obligations and contract law, any kind
of object would be legally valid, but the object would have to be tied
to an identified counterparty. However, as the more popular
cryptocurrencies can be freely and quickly exchanged into legal
tender, they are financial assets and have to be taxed and accounted
for as such.[282]
Crypto-related suicides

In 2018, an increase in crypto-related suicides was noticed after the
cryptocurrency market crashed in August. The situation was
particularly critical in Korea as crypto traders were on "suicide
watch". A cryptocurrency forum on Reddit even started providing
suicide prevention support to affected investors.[283][284][285]

The May 2022 collapse of the Luna currency operated by Terra also led
to reports of suicidal investors in crypto-related subreddits.[286]
See also

    2018 crypto crash
    Blockchain-based remittances company
    Cryptocurrency bubble
    Cryptocurrency exchange
    Cryptographic protocol
    List of cryptocurrencies
    Virtual currency law in the United States

Notes

    Whether the word 'crypto' refers to 'cryptocurrency' is
controverial, see crypto naming controversy.

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Further reading

    Chayka, Kyle (2 July 2013). "What Comes After Bitcoin?". Pacific
Standard. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
    Guadamuz, Andres; Marsden, Chris (2015). "Blockchains and Bitcoin:
Regulatory responses to cryptocurrencies" (PDF). First Monday. 20
(12). doi:10.5210/fm.v20i12.6198. S2CID 811921.

External links

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