The Role of Cryptocurrencies in Modern Economic Markets
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The Role of Cryptocurrencies in Modern Economic Markets Thesis By Lukas Bestajovsky Submitted in Partial fulfillment Of the Requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts In Business Administration university 2017 Originality Statement This thesis is my original piece of work, and it has not been presented to any institution in the past. There should be no part that may be reproduced without permission from the original author or institution. Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my family members for their overwhelming support and patience during the long days I spend in the write-up. iii Acknowledgements I would like to appreciate my family for the support they have offered me to advance my education in this institution. I will also not forget my lecturers and my classmates for their time in the process of helping me complete my studies, and to this I will always be indebted to them. Lastly, I will not forget my mentor for the support provided towards completing this thesis. Table of Contents Originality Statement ...................................................................................................................... ii Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iv List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. xxi Table 4.2: Security Mechanisms…………………………………………………………………37 ..................................................................................................................................................... xxii Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... xxiii CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................................... 24 1.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 24 1.1 Overview of Cryptocurrencies .......................................................................................................... 25 1.1.1 History ........................................................................................................................................ 25 1.1.2 Bitcoin ........................................................................................................................................ 27 The invention behind Bitcoins has however brought about different controversies as no one knows the person who invented it. However, the name Nakamoto Satoshi is associated with the individual who was behind its release in the year 2008. This information came about because the currency requires individuals to put down their birth date, and as far as the coin is concerned Nakamoto’s name came up when his year of birth was registered during this period. ................ 30 1.1.3 Ethereum .................................................................................................................................... 30 v 1.1.4 Monero ....................................................................................................................................... 35 Due to the untraceable nature of monero, all coins are similar and have similar values when seen and transacted by different parties. This fungibility level allows merchants to use them in all their transactions, without any possibility of refuting them due to their past histories. This characteristic has made monero to be adopted by a majority of people since its initial launch. Different marketplaces like Oasis and AlphaBay, have strongly embraced this technology because of its popularity, and overall demand. ............................................................................. 36 The market for monero is similar to that of other cryptocurrencies, and people who desire to own it can easily purchase it from various exchanges which include Kraken, Poloniex or Bitfinex. However, Poloniex is listed as the first exchanger that held this currency, while listing eight others by mid 2014. Bitifinex was next in the year 2016, and this exchanged Bitcoins, with listings of XMR/BTC and XMR/USD which fully allowed withdrawals and deposits of monero. ....................................................................................................................................................... 37 Kraken started providing trading options at the beginning of 2017 while pairing currencies in the form of XBT/XMR, USD/XMR, and XBT/XMR. During this time monero was highly praised, and this was indicated on their blog, where they confirmed high trading levels. Similar to many other cryptocurrencies, monero provides parties with the opportunity to get blocks mined, while the individuals can easily join pools, and mine monero without problems by themselves. ......... 37 People who own PCs can easily take part in such operations because they never require any applications that are specific to the mining process to continue. It, however, makes use of proof- of-work kind of algorithm which is easily accessible through different processors. The block time for the particular currency stands at two minutes, with a clear provision of a permanent reward. Currently, the rewards stand at 7.46 XMR, and this indicates production of 224 XMR every hour, with a total of 5,376 XMR every single day, with a hash rate of 81.84 million (Piotrowska 201). .......................................................................................................................... 37 The price margin of monero has been changing significantly and it in the past one month it went up by a higher margin of 70%. Since its launch, it has experienced fluctuations of $0.25 and $60, and this is a clear indication that it will continue to increase in price in the coming days. Most investors and observers interpret such volatility as less credible, but they often provide the needed fluctuations while in the trading arena. Traders are always allowed to purchase monero by using cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies, and this is made possible to motivate them to sell and buy this vital commodity with the main desire of making a profit. Those buying this currency can also use it for hedging purposes when dealing with other cryptocurrencies that are already in operation in the market. ............................................................................................... 38 Since this particular currency has been accepted by the majority, it has gained visibility due to its ability to give users the needed privacy setting, and it is considered to be less speculative when compared to other competitors. In the future, however, its price will be determined due to its demand and supply, and its uncertain nature will give investors an opportunity to use experts in the speculation process to ensure higher returns in the future. ..................................................... 38 1.1.5 Petro ........................................................................................................................................... 38 CHAPTER TWO .......................................................................................................................... 41 2.0 Fiat Money vs. Commodity Money .................................................................................................. 41 Fiat money has its legal status and value, and this is commonly derived from the relationships of the demand and supply channels, coupled with the regulations from the government. In addition, vii its acceptance among the traders and others users form a larger part of its value in the economy. Unlike the original fiat money, cryptocurrencies are trustless, and they make use of peer-to-peer forms of transaction, which are decentralized in nature. It is commonly operated by protocols, with minimal regulations from other financial institutions and the government at large. Fiat money often becomes valueless immediately the government backing it decides to step aside, whereas cryptocurrencies continually maintain their value without having to contend with backings from the government...................................................................................................... 41 In the case of Bitcoin, for example, its value often increases based on the coins’ performance and not any entities support. They take pride in their innovations and technological operations that are employed in their development while ensuring tight security measures to avoid instances of theft and fraud. With these stringent measures, the coins continually gain acceptance and trust from the majority making them popular among the masses. Most people consider bitcoins as being commodities and not a pure currency because of their inherent features, patterns of trading, and their ever-changing prices. ..................................................................................................... 41 2.1 Relevancy of Cryptocurrencies ......................................................................................................... 42 As mentioned earlier, cryptocurrencies are digital creations that are encrypted for security reasons and were introduced to avoid double