Understanding Cryptocurrencies

Wolfgang Härdle, Campbell R Harvey and Raphael Reule

Journal of Financial Econometrics, 2020, vol. 18, issue 2, 181-208

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: blockchain; bitcoin; consensus; cryptocurrency; cryptographic hashing; economic bubble; finance; peer-to-peer; proof-of-work; proof-of-stake; volatility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C01 C58 E42 E51 G10 K24 K42 L86 O31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (60)

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Working Paper: Understanding Cryptocurrencies (2018)
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