Money is No Object: Understanding the Evolving Cryptocurrency Market

It has been called one of the “greatest technological breakthroughs since the Internet.”1 It also has been called “a black hole” into which a consumer’s money could just disappear.

The subject at hand is cryptocurrency—a medium of exchange created and stored electronically, and using encryption techniques to control the creation of monetary units and to verify the transfer of funds. Bitcoin, perhaps the most widely known example, has been a media sensation and an investment fad. But so far this new way of storing and spending value has inspired more debate than actual commerce.  

This article discusses the cryptocurrency market and what merchants and consumers, tech developers, investors, financial institutions, and regulators can expect  from this emerging market in the years to come.