The protocol behind cryptocurrencies has first been developed by a mysterious figure: Satoshi Nakamoto who developed the Bitcoin system. The idea is that instead of being a delimited file or object that could possibly be duplicated, the Bitcoin system simply gives access to a ledger that records every transaction. To use a simple comparison, it … Continue reading How do Cryptocurrencies work ?
As the hype surrounding cryptocurrencies is behind us, this does not mean that the technology underlying the functioning of those currencies is a force to be reckoned with. Don and Alex Tapscott gave a good summary of the promises of the technology: "The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be … Continue reading When Blockchain will do what current institutions do not.
The prices of cryptocurrencies across the board have recently taken a large dip and no one knows in which direction they will go in the future. The falls in prices largely had to do with bad news and hence a more pessimistic outlook on how governments across the world want to regulate cryptocurrencies. Is this … Continue reading Blockchain, Banks, and Governments
Although the hype has died down a bit in the last few weeks, cryptocurrencies still are a major development in the finance industry. This article aims to provide an introduction to this issue’s Spotlight to explain the driving ideological forces behind cryptocurrencies and to introduce some of the main arguments on their utility. Most proponents … Continue reading Cryptocurrencies: from fringe to mainstream… and back?
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