The ABCs of Bitcoin and a Look at Its Investment Potential

Cryptocurrencies, or digital currencies, have captured the imagination and interest of investors around the world. Three main factors have driven this interest: the role of cryptocurrencies as bold new upstarts in the world of electronic payments; their meteoric rise in value since they were created less than a decade ago; and the perennial search for long-term stores of value in the face of geopolitical uncertainty. In an effort to provide an understanding of this enigmatic space, this paper focuses on the digital currency world through the lens of bitcoin—the first, best-known, and most dominant cryptocurrency by market capitalization, which created the foundation on which other cryptocurrencies were built.