"Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that is exchanged between peers without the need of a third party, like a bank. It enables consumers to digitally connect directly through a transparent process, showing the financial amount, but not the identities of the people conducting the transaction. The network consists of a chain of computers, which are all required to approve a cryptocurrency exchange and prevent duplication of the same transaction. Because of its transparency, this type of transaction has the potential to reduce fraud. Cryptocurrency exchange is somewhat similar to the global online payment system, PayPal, except the currency being exchanged is not traditional money. The cryptocurrency procedure uses digital safeguards to ensure the security of transactions. In addition, each transaction must be confirmed in a digital public ledger, called a blockchain, through a process known as mining."
Northeastern University, D'Amore-McKim School of Business "Guide to the Rise of Cryptocurrency, Digital Currency and Bitcoin" https://onlinebusiness.northeastern.edu/masters-in-finance-msf/knowledge/guide-to-the-rise-of-cryptocurrency-digital-currency-and-bitcoin/
"Bitcoin has become a cultural and financial phenomenon....In short, Bitcoin is a digital currency, or 'cryptocurrency,' that allows person-to-person transactions independent of the banking system. Bitcoin is not a physical coin that you keep in your purse or wallet. Rather, it is a virtual currency—a digital computer code you store in a virtual wallet in cyberspace and access with a computer or smartphone app. Some see Bitcoin as revolutionary because it allows people to transfer money to each other very easily (like sending an email), even across international borders. Lately, however, many people are buying this virtual currency purely as a financial investment, hoping it will appreciate, rather than using it for transactions. So which is it—currency or financial asset? Or perhaps the line dividing one from the other is not very clear."
Scott A. Wolla, "Bitcoin: Money or Financial Investment?," Page One Economics®, March 2018 https://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/page1-econ/2018/03/01/bitcoin-money-or-financial-investment
Handbook of Digital Currency by 
Handbook of Blockchain, Digital Finance, and Inclusion, Volume 1 by 
Crypto Uncovered by 
Ethereum Projects for Beginners by 
Architecting Enterprise Blockchain Solutions by A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network.
Nakamoto, S. (2008). Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Bitcoin.com https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
*Link to a presentation inspired by the whitepaper.
Researchers investigate the effects of cryptocurrency shocks on key financial markets, including the stock, bond, gold and foreign exchange markets.
Liu, J., Rahman, S., & Serletis, A. (2021). Cryptocurrency shocks. The Manchester School, 89(2), 190–202. https://doi.org/10.1111/manc.12354
Authors investigate how sensitive developed and emerging equity markets are to volatility dynamics of Bitcoin during tranquil, bear, and bull market regimes.
Ahmed, W. (2021). Stock market reactions to upside and downside volatility of Bitcoin: A quantile analysis. The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, 57, 101379–. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.najef.2021.101379
In this paper, researchers study the cryptocurrency pricing factors. They review the literatures which state that the cryptocurrency market is weakly efficient. Authors use the Fama–MacBeth method to investigate the pricing factors.
Wang, Q., & Chong, T. (2021). Factor pricing of cryptocurrencies. The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, 57, 101348–. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.najef.2020.101348
Researchers to investigate the notion of Bitcoin in actually being a safe-haven asset, amid political and economic uncertainty in the US for the period between 2016-2020.
Umar, M., Su, C., Rizvi, S., & Shao, X. (2021). Bitcoin: A safe haven asset and a winner amid political and economic uncertainties in the US? Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 167, 120680–. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120680
Wall Street Journal (Producer), & . (2018). Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain. [Video/DVD] WSJ. https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/cryptocurrencies-and-blockchain
But How Does Bitcoin Actually Work. . (2019).[Video/DVD] 3 Blue 1 Brown. https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/but-how-does-bitcoin-actually-work
NewsHour Productions (Producer), & . (2018). The How and Why of Buying Bitcoin. [Video/DVD] NewsHour Productions. https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/the-how-and-why-of-buying-bitcoin
Films Media Group. (2018). Tedtalks: Ashwini anburajan—how cryptocurrency can help start-ups get investment capital. Films On Demand. https://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=149262&xtid=209858.
Films Media Group. (2018). Beyond innovation. Films On Demand. https://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=149262&xtid=189348.
Andria Hopkins, Christopher Cannucciari, David Guy Levy, Periscope Entertainment, & Dynamic Range (Producers), & Cannucciari, C. (Director). (2016). Banking on Bitcoin. [Video/DVD] Gravitas Ventures. https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/banking-on-bitcoin
