Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
submittedVersion
Publication Date
3-2020
Abstract
Cryptocurrency refers to a type of digital asset that uses distributed ledger, or blockchain, technology to enable a secure transaction. Although the technology is widely misunderstood, many central banks are considering launching their own national cryptocurrency. In contrast to most data in financial economics, detailed data on the history of every transaction in the cryptocurrency complex are freely available. Furthermore, empirically oriented research is only now beginning, presenting an extraordinary research opportunity for academia. We provide some insights into the mechanics of cryptocurrencies, describing summary statistics and focusing on potential future research avenues in financial economics.
Keywords
Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, bitcoin, Economic bubble, Peer-to-Peer, Finance, Cryptographic hashing, Consensus, Proof-of-work, Proof-of-stake, Volatility
Discipline
Finance and Financial Management | Technology and Innovation
Publication
Journal of Financial Econometrics
Volume
18
Issue
2
First Page
181
Last Page
208
ISSN
1479-8409
Identifier
10.1093/jjfinec/nbz033
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Embargo Period
5-19-2021
Citation
HARDLE, Wolfgang Karl; HARVEY, Campbell R.; and Ruele, Raphael C. G..
Understanding cryptocurrencies. (2020). Journal of Financial Econometrics. 18, (2), 181-208.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/skbi/2
Copyright Owner and License
Authors / SKBI
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/jjfinec/nbz033