Annotated Bibliography
This research pertains to the functions, positive and negative effects, and practical analyses of cryptocurrency usage. It also includes various relevant legislation from diverse global governments which promote stability in cryptocurrency and general exchanges.
Auxier, Brooke, et al. “Americans and Privacy: Concerned, Confused and Feeling Lack of Control Over their Personal Information.” Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C., 15 Nov. 2019, www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/11/15/americans-and-privacy-concerned-confused-and-feeling-lack-of-control-over-their-personal-information/.
This poll analysis by Pew Research addresses the sentiments and experiences of Americans regarding digital privacy and security. It categorizes participants by age, ethnicity, gender, and income to understand how digital trends and regulation affect their experience. People feel less knowledgeable about how the government uses their data than they do about businesses, and younger groups have largely accepted that businesses have more control over people’s personal data than they do. Although it does not mention cryptocurrencies, this article provides insight into trends and factors that could cause Americans to change the trajectory of cryptocurrency adoption and development. This source includes reliable poll statistics, but is limited in its explanation of the causes of certain effects.
“Block by Block.” United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 19 Sep. 2022, unfccc.int/blog/block-by-block.
This brief article from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change gives a wide understanding of the several ways that blockchain technologies interact with the climate. It summarizes the history of the internet between the stages commonly known as Web2 and Web3. Visualizable examples of the immense energy requirements (and therefore carbon output) of Proof of Work networks help the reader understand why reform is necessary. An introduction to six crypto-climate organizations which all have completely unique goals is the most valuable section of this article for my Capstone. Some of these include making cryptocurrency transactions more energy efficient, using blockchain to improve monitoring of illegal logging, and rewarding companies for beneficial climate actions. It gives context about climate concerns and a variety of current solutions which can be researched further.
Boucheta, Haroun and Arnaud Joseph. “MiCA - Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation Memo.” BNP Paribas 7 Jul. 2022, securities.cib.bnpparibas/markets-in-crypto-assets-regulation/.
This article establishes the timeline and primary effects of the MiCA regulation as it continues its path through the legislative process. It explains that delays and revisions have had little effect on the goals of the MiCA, and it is likely to be implemented in 2024. The new rules will require crypto-asset service providers to obtain licenses, and all users to abide by certain traditional business standards such as the ESG in order to preserve market stability. The legislation does not apply to all blockchain technologies, namely NFTs. The article highlights some risks in this plan, such as the potential for losing transaction volume due to parties avoiding trade in the EU in response to difficulty adhering to the new policy. This article gives clear, substantial information about the MiCA, and clearly distinguishes information related to speculation from confirmed facts.
EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), OJ 2016 L 119/1. eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679
This piece of European Union legislation sets the standards for online data privacy. It is extensive in its coverage, and aims to establish the rights of users and obligations of data controllers in any online environment. Articles 15-17 may pertain to cryptocurrency transactions, limiting the scope of operations for individuals and exchanges that operate there. In this section, every internet user is guaranteed the “right of access by the data subject”, “right to rectification,” and “right to erasure,” which many blockchain services might be fundamentally unable to comply with. The GDPR’s broad measures may not be suited to cryptocurrency usage, and can be used to highlight the disconnect between it and typical internet usage. However, it must be followed by all and defines the boundaries of worldwide digital markets.
Luther, William J. "Cryptocurrencies, network effects, and switching costs." Contemporary Economic Policy vol. 34, no. 3, 16 Oct. 2015, 553-571. Wiley, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/coep.12151.
This article published in Contemporary Economic Policy describes many factors that affect and predict the adoption of cryptocurrencies, such as switching costs, historical acceptance, world events, and improving technology. It also uses simple game theory and economic principles to explain the hurdles of business-business and government-government communication that is required for an efficient adoption of new cryptocurrencies. Businesses also tend to only share information with others that are very closely related, but a wider effort must occur for the costs of switching to be acceptable. Education on the topic is also a large factor, and may not meet necessary goals without a large-scale event causing a greater necessity for switching. This article also includes historical examples of localized switching, and a discussion of the features a cryptocurrency must have in order to be globally financially viable.
John, Kose, Maureen O’Hara, and Fahad Saleh. "Bitcoin and beyond." Annual Review of Financial Economics vol. 14, no. 1, 22 Mar. 2022, 95-115. Annual Reviews, www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-financial-111620-011240.
“Bitcoin and beyond,” published in Annual Review of Financial, explains the technical reasons for cryptocurrencies’ existence and design. Bitcoin was created to solve the double-spending problem, a malicious attack that traditional markets are affected by. Proof of work blockchain networks use lots of computational power to prevent double-spending attacks, and experience little forking in exchange for slow transaction times. Other downsides of this method include poor scalability, fee volatility, and certain other attacks. Faster proof of work and most proof of stake blockchains have much faster transaction times, allowing them to be used as a day-to-day currency, but have less protection against double-spending. It also includes mathematical tools for assessing transaction speed, fork rate, and resilience to double-spending attacks, as well as historical examples of failures and changes to major blockchains regarding these parameters. This article is intended to teach people why cryptocurrencies are different from one another, their goals, and the drawbacks to their designs.
Morton, D. Towne. "The future of cryptocurrency: an unregulated instrument in an increasingly regulated global economy." Loy. U. Chi. Int'l L. Rev. vol. 16, no. 1, 22 Jul. 2020, 129-143. lawecommons.luc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1219&context=lucilr.
This article by D. Towne Morton compares the current market status and cryptocurrency legislation across several countries in North America, Europe, and Asia. It points out why each country classifies cryptocurrencies differently (as assets, digital monies, virtual currencies, commodities, property, etc.). It explains the countries’ views on cryptocurrencies as a tool for money laundering, scamming, investing, or trading. The article also explains their positions towards initial coin offerings and international investigations. The EU (in particular) strictly enforces its laws on anyone who trades with its citizens, which could cause other nations to leave their market. It gives examples of previous legislation causing investors and exchanges to move elsewhere, such as in China when all mining was banned. This article provides a strong overview of different approaches to cryptocurrency legislation, and includes many articles and laws which are beneficial to future research.
Wang, Qin et al. “Non-Fungible Token (NFT): Overview, Evaluation, Opportunities and Challenges.” ArXiv 25 Oct. 2021, n.pag. https://arxiv.org/abs/2105.07447 www.semanticscholar.org/reader/ad5c04b15e20dccfd3907f9cc354962cb77848a7.
This journal article gives technical and historical context for the recent Non-Fungible Token market trends. It explains the benefits of NFTs to their creators, a simplified overview of how the market functions including the underlying Ethereum network, and the different forms of NFTs. It also describes what caused certain market players to be extremely successful during the massive popularity increase beginning in January, 2020. Several of these stand-out tokens were directly related to sports and online avatars, which further spread the concept of NFTs to new audiences. This article also discusses the potential for decentralized networks built on NFT smart contracts. Generally, it focuses on the many ways that NFTs can be used in personalized ways to promote communication capabilities between people.