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Crypto-Currencies and Crypto-Assets: An Introduction

• Published: 20 March 2023
• Volume 49 , pages 201–205, ( 2023 )

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• Alexandre Olbrecht 1 &
• Gina Pieters 2 , 3  

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Introduction

In the fourteen years since official launch of Bitcoin (BTC) at the start of 2009 based on the concepts in Satoshi Nakamoto’s whitepaper (Nakamoto ( 2008 )), the number blockchain-based digital tokens has grown to over 22,000. The intended use of these digital tokens have also expanded from a goal replacing of fiat currency (Bitcoin’s intent as cryptography-enabled digital currency, or cryptocurrency) to a broader system of cryptography-enabled system for assets (crypto-assets) such as a token system for automating legal contracts (smart contracts) or a record for digital art ownership (non-fungible tokens). Given the size and public interest in these space, we have decided to dedicate a special issue of the Eastern Economic Journal to the economics of crypto-currencies and crypto-assets. In the remaining parts of this introduction, we will provide readers a guide to this space and how the four papers contained within this issue contribute to it.

The contribution of Satoshi Nakamoto in creating Bitcoin was the process by which the transaction verification and record-keeping could be decentralized. A key element of the Bitcoin system is Proof of Work (PoW). In the Proof of Work system, individual entities ( miners ) compete to compile the most recent batch of transactions into a block of records, in the process verifying that the transactions are feasible given account ( wallet ) balances. The winners are paid a reward of newly created Bitcoin. In order for entities to engage in the process of this record-compiling, Bitcoin must have a positive price which acts as the main incentive for miners to maintain an accurate ledger as failure to do so (creating a record that is known to be false, manipulated, or inaccurate) would reduce the value of the Bitcoin they are paid.

To ensure that those with the most powerful computers are not the default “winners,” a PoW system requires that miners expend computing power to “guess” a unique combination of letters and numbers associated with the record they are compiling. This hash is a unique function of the contents within the block, and is the key crypto-graphic design embedded within the Bitcoin system, leading to Bitcoin’s original moniker of crypto-graphic currency, later shortened to cryptocurrency. The design of the Bitcoin PoW system is to adjust the difficulty of guessing the hash to maintain a “guess-time” of approximately ten minutes: the use of more powerful computers therefore correspond to a more complicated puzzle rather than any substantive change in transaction processing. These design decisions mean that while more powerful computers have a better chance of finding the hash for any block (because they can iterate through more guesses per second), in theory non-powerful entities can still “win” the accounting race through sheer luck. Biais et al. ( 2019 ) show that the design of the PoW system is one that generates multiple equilibrium and, more importantly, induces an excessive investment in computing capacity.

The excessive computing investment is largely environmental as miners use more powerful computers, and by extension more electricity, to guess the hash. Recent work by Jones et al. ( 2022 ) estimates that each $1 in BTC market value created between $0.16 and $0.82 in global climate damage, with the highest damage period occurring after China (where miners predominately used wind and solar) banned mining, with Gallersdörfer et al. ( 2020 ) estimating that BTC accounts for only two-thirds of energy consumption in the crypto-ecosystem. It must be noted that the estimates of the amount of electricity actually used in mining is subject to debate, as they are usually based on the amount of computing power implied by the hash and the type of machines it is assumed miners are using. That is the basis of the well-known Houy ( 2019 ) criticism of the Mora et al. ( 2018 ) estimates that Bitcoin mining could cause global warning to exceed the 2 \(\circ \) C ceiling, as their estimates relied on miners using the most powerful (and energy intensive) computers even though those machines would not have been profitable for substantial periods.

Nevertheless, these discussion lead to questions regarding the value of maintaining a decentralized record keeping system through a PoW, as the electricity is not required to speedily process the number or complexity of transactions and is merely to maintain a competitive edge over other miners by allowing more “guesses.” The most well-known alternative to PoW is the Proof-of-Stake system (PoS). This system requires that validators (the equivalent of miners in the PoS system) deposit tokens into the system (their “stake” in the system continued function). The theoretical underpinnings of PoS consensus generation is analyzed in Saleh ( 2021 ), where it is shown that it can sustain consensus in much the same way as PoW. The world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum, switched to PoS in September 2022, reducing its energy usage by a claimed 99.5% (Dillet ( 2022 )). However, broader adoptions have slowed as the Security and Exchange Commissions signals that this change may allow the application of securities laws to cryptocurrencies (Kiernan and Huang ( 2022 )). Gabriel Mathy proposes an alternative change that retains the PoW system in the paper “ Eliminating Environmental Costs to Proof-Of-Worked-Based Cryptocurrencies: A Proposal ”. The key proposal examined in the paper is that, instead of increasing the difficulty of hash (increasing the environmental cost of a PoW system), the PoW system could adjust the reward or account balances to decrease the benefit of mining, and therefore the incentive to use more electricity and thereby the environmental cost.

No examination of the cryptoasset ecosystem is without a discussion of any fundamental value such assets may (or may not) contain. Early work was mostly empirical and focused on the extent of speculation in the Bitcoin market (for example, Cheah and Fry ( 2015 ) or Baur et al. ( 2018 )) or Bitcoin’s potential value as a hedging asset (for example, Dyhrberg ( 2016 )) with the findings changing with time periods or methods, though there is agreement that there was a substantial component of speculation in early Bitcoin prices. There is also discussion about cryptocurrency’s value from use as a payment means for illegal activities, though estimates vary widely as to the extent of this usage: for example, the estimates of Bitcoin use in illegal activity in 2017 varies between meager 1.42% (Chainalysis ( 2022 )) and a substantial 46% (Foley et al. ( 2019 )). In recent years, the ability to use crypto to make payments anonymously has become even more constrained as various enforcement agencies and academics have turned their attention to mapping the relationships between the various wallets (Bohannon ( 2016 ); Lennon ( 2021 )).

These empirical efforts are completed by theoretical evaluations of the value of cryptocurrencies, with most finding that a positive price can be sustained even in a system with competing currencies (for example, Fernández-Villaverde and Sanches ( 2019 ); Schilling and Uhlig ( 2019 ); Benigno et al. ( 2022 )). In a application of Kiyotaki-Wright model to cryptocurrency, Garrison Hongyu Song’s “ Valuation of Cryptocurrency without Intrinsic Value: A Promise of Future Payment System and Implications to De-dollarization ” shows that even if a crypto-currency token has no inherent or fundamental value, it may still attain value role in an equilibrium as the unique token for enabling payments between agents. In the context of cryptocurrencies, these agents could be in different countries, and could be ill-served by traditional international remittance or payment options offered by financial firms.

However, if the use of a cryptocurrency as a payment is the source of its positive price a puzzle arises. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin can fork : an analogy would be someone copy-pasting an original document and then continuing to append their own words to the copy, while someone else continues working on the original. As part of this copy-paste, fundamental changes could be introduced (deleting chapters, changing formatting decisions, etc.) The original Bitcoin protocol has had at least 17 forks leading to at least 17 new payment tokens, of which most but not all of which moved to a statistically zero price after a few months (Landoni and Pieters ( 2020 )). If Bitcoin’s value is derived from its value as a unique payment token, the introduction of these 17 competitors should have an impact on Bitcoin’s price. At the very minimum one would expect prices between Bitcoin and its competitors to be negatively correlated as the tokens compete for dominance in the payment market. The findings of N. Ahmed, O. Farooq and N. Hamed in “ The Relation between Bitcoin and its Forks: An Empirical Investigation ” pose a challenge to that theory: the authors show that the price of Bitcoin and its forked tokens are positively correlated. This implies that even if some of Bitcoin’s price is attributable to its use a payment token, other reasons for positive prices must also contribute (which can include speculation).

Teaching Using Crypto Markets

As many professors know, undergraduate students have an especially keen interest in crypto-assets, yet many find it difficult to incorporate crypto-assets into their courses in a way that does not require a significant amount of self-study. In J. Zhu and L. Zhang’s “ Educational Game on Cryptocurrency Investment: Gamification for Understanding Macroeconomics in Microeconomic Decisions of Human-AI Interactions ” the authors propose an exercise in which students can experience rules-based versus discretion-based monetary policy by implementing either a rules-based or discretion-based investment decision in Ethereum. The intent of the game is for student to experience the perspective of a policy-maker who will either be bound by a rule-based decision making strategy, or will have discretion, but applied to a market in which automated trading strategies are standard and in which the goal (making a profit) is easy to grasp.

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Fernández-Villaverde, J., and D. Sanches. 2019. Can currency competition work? Journal of Monetary Economics 106: 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmoneco.2019.07.003 .

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Gallersdörfer, U., L. Klaaßen, and C. Stoll. 2020. Energy consumption of cryptocurrencies beyond bitcoin. Joule 4: 1843–1846. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2020.07.013 .

Houy, N. 2019. Rational mining limits Bitcoin emissions. Nature Climate Change 9: 655–655. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-019-0533-6 .

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Mora, C., R.L. Rollins, K. Taladay, M.B. Kantar, M.K. Chock, M. Shimada, and E.C. Franklin. 2018. Bitcoin emissions alone could push global warming above 2 \(\circ \) C. Nature Climate Change 8: 931–933. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0321-8.

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Alexandre Olbrecht

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Research Fellow in the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

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Olbrecht, A., Pieters, G. Crypto-Currencies and Crypto-Assets: An Introduction. Eastern Econ J 49 , 201–205 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41302-023-00246-1

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Published : 20 March 2023

Issue Date : April 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/s41302-023-00246-1

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Research Topics & Ideas

Blockchain & Cryptocurrency

If you’re just starting out exploring blockchain-related topics for your dissertation, thesis or research project, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll help kickstart your research by providing a hearty list of research topics and ideas related to blockchain and crypto, including examples from recent studies.

PS – This is just the start…

We know it’s exciting to run through a list of research topics, but please keep in mind that this list is just a starting point . These topic ideas provided here are intentionally broad and generic , so keep in mind that you will need to develop them further. Nevertheless, they should inspire some ideas for your project.

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Blockchain & Crypto-Related Research Topics

• The application of blockchain technology in securing electronic health records.
• Investigating the potential of smart contracts in automating insurance claims.
• The impact of blockchain on the traceability and transparency in supply chain management.
• Developing a blockchain-based voting system for enhancing electoral transparency.
• The role of blockchain in combating counterfeit goods in the luxury goods market.
• Assessing the security implications of quantum computing on cryptocurrency encryption.
• The use of blockchain for royalty distribution in the music industry.
• Investigating the scalability challenges of Ethereum and potential solutions.
• The impact of blockchain technology on cross-border remittances in developing countries.
• Developing a blockchain framework for real-time IoT device management.
• The application of tokenization in real estate asset management.
• Examining regulatory challenges for cryptocurrency exchanges in different jurisdictions.
• The potential of decentralized finance (DeFi) in disrupting traditional banking.
• Investigating the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining and potential sustainable alternatives.
• The role of blockchain in enhancing data security in cloud computing.
• Analysing the impact of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) on traditional venture capital funding.
• The use of blockchain for enhancing transparency in charitable organizations.
• Assessing the potential of blockchain in combating online identity theft and fraud.
• Investigating the use of cryptocurrency in illicit trade and its regulatory implications.
• The application of blockchain in automating and securing international trade finance.
• Analysing the efficiency of different consensus algorithms in blockchain networks.
• The potential of blockchain technology in managing intellectual property rights.
• Developing a decentralized platform for peer-to-peer energy trading using blockchain.
• Investigating the security vulnerabilities of various cryptocurrency wallets.
• The role of blockchain in revolutionizing the gaming industry through in-game assets.

Blockchain & Crypto Research Ideas (Continued)

• Assessing the impact of cryptocurrency adoption on monetary policy and banking systems.
• Investigating the integration of blockchain technology in the automotive industry for vehicle history tracking.
• The use of blockchain for secure and transparent public record keeping in government sectors.
• Analysing consumer adoption patterns and trust issues in cryptocurrency transactions.
• The application of blockchain in streamlining and securing online voting systems.
• Developing a blockchain-based platform for academic credential verification.
• Examining the impact of blockchain on enhancing privacy and security in social media platforms.
• The potential of blockchain in transforming the retail industry through supply chain transparency.
• Investigating the feasibility of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
• The use of blockchain in creating tamper-proof digital evidence systems for law enforcement.
• Analysing the role of cryptocurrency in financial inclusion in underbanked regions.
• Developing a blockchain solution for secure digital identity management.
• Investigating the use of blockchain in food safety and traceability.
• The potential of blockchain in streamlining and securing e-commerce transactions.
• Assessing the legal and ethical implications of smart contracts.
• The role of blockchain in the future of freelance and gig economy payments.
• Analysing the security and efficiency of cross-chain transactions in blockchain networks.
• The potential of blockchain for digital rights management in the media and entertainment industry.
• Investigating the impact of blockchain technology on the stock market and asset trading.
• Developing a blockchain framework for transparent and efficient public sector audits.
• The use of blockchain in ensuring the authenticity of luxury products.
• Analysing the challenges and opportunities of blockchain implementation in the healthcare sector.
• The potential of blockchain in transforming the logistics and transportation industry.
• Investigating the role of blockchain in mitigating risks in supply chain disruptions.
• The application of blockchain in enhancing transparency and accountability in non-profit organizations.

Recent Blockchain-Related Studies

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a  research topic, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual studies in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space to see how this all comes together in practice.

Below, we’ve included a selection of recent studies to help refine your thinking. These are actual studies,  so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• A Novel Optimization for GPU Mining Using Overclocking and Undervolting (Shuaib et al., 2022).
• Systematic Review of Security Vulnerabilities in Ethereum Blockchain Smart Contract (Kushwaha et al., 2022).
• Blockchain for Modern Applications: A Survey (Krichen et al., 2022).
• The Role and Potential of Blockchain Technology in Islamic Finance (Truby et al., 2022).
• Analysis of the Security and Reliability of Cryptocurrency Systems Using Knowledge Discovery and Machine Learning Methods (Shahbazi & Byun, 2022).
• Blockchain technology used in medicine. A brief survey (Virgolici et al., 2022).
• On the Deployment of Blockchain in Edge Computing Wireless Networks (Jaafar et al., 2022).
• The Blockchains Technologies for Cryptocurrencies: A Review (Taha & Alanezi, 2022). Cryptocurrencies Advantages and Disadvantages: A Review (Qaroush et al., 2022).
• Blockchain Implementation in Financial Sector and Cyber Security System (Panduro-Ramirez et al., 2022).
• Secure Blockchain Interworking Using Extended Smart Contract (Fujimoto et al., 2022).
• Cryptocurrency: The Present and the Future Scenario (Kommuru et al., 2022).
• Preparation for Post-Quantum era: a survey about blockchain schemes from a post-quantum perspective (Ciulei et al., 2022).
• Cryptocurrency Blockchain Technology in the Digital Revolution Era (Astuti et al., 2022).
• D-RAM Distribution: A Popular Energy-Saving Memory Mining Blockchain Technology (Jing, 2022).
• A Survey on Blockchain for Bitcoin and Its Future Perspectives (Garg et al., 2022).
• Blockchain Security: A Survey of Techniques and Research Directions (Leng et al., 2022).
• The Importance and Use of Blockchain Technology in International Payment Methods (Erdoğdu & Ünüsan, 2023).
• Some Insights on Open Problems in Blockchains: Explorative Tracks for Tezos (Invited Talk) (Conchon, 2022).

As you can see, these research topics are a lot more focused than the generic topic ideas we presented earlier. So, in order for you to develop a high-quality research topic, you’ll need to get specific and laser-focused on a specific context with specific variables of interest.  In the video below, we explore some other important things you’ll need to consider when crafting your research topic.

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• Policy Documents

IMF-FSB Synthesis Paper: Policies for Crypto-Assets

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) have advanced policy and regulatory recommendations to identify and respond to macroeconomic and financial stability risks associated with crypto-assets.

Crypto-assets have been in existence for more than a decade and have displayed significant volatility. Alongside their volatility, crypto-asset activities have also grown in complexity. So far, direct connections between crypto-assets and systemically important financial institutions, core financial markets, and market infrastructures have been limited. Nevertheless, they have the potential to emerge as a source of systemic risk in specific jurisdictions if they gain traction for payments or retail investments. The IMF has outlined key elements of an appropriate policy response including macroeconomic, legal and financial integrity considerations and implications for monetary and fiscal policies. In parallel, the FSB and standard-setting bodies (SSBs) have published regulatory and supervisory recommendations and standards to address financial stability, financial integrity, market integrity, investor protection, prudential and other risks derived from crypto-assets.

At the request of the Indian G20 Presidency, the IMF and the FSB have developed this paper to synthesise the IMF’s and the FSB’s (alongside SSBs’) policy recommendations and standards. The collective recommendations provide comprehensive guidance to help authorities address the macroeconomic and financial stability risks posed by crypto-asset activities and markets, including those associated with stablecoins and those conducted through so-called decentralised finance (DeFi).

This paper describes how the policy and regulatory frameworks developed by the IMF and the FSB (alongside SSBs) fit together and interact with each other, but it does not establish new policies, recommendations or expectations for relevant member authorities.

The paper looks at the key risks to macroeconomic stability, financial stability, and other areas (such as legal, financial integrity and market integrity related risks), posed by crypto-asset activities. It then presents policy responses to these risks in the areas of:

macro-financial policies;

financial stability regulation; and

other policies and regulation.

The paper concludes with an implementation roadmap. The roadmap includes planned and ongoing work related to the implementation of crypto-asset policy frameworks, which taken together seek to: build institutional capacity beyond G20 jurisdictions; enhance global coordination, cooperation, and information sharing; and address data gaps necessary to understand the rapidly changing crypto-asset ecosystem.

1 For FSAPs in EMDEs the exploration of the inclusion of crypto assets will be done jointly with the World Bank.

Press Release

7 september 2023 fsb and imf outline comprehensive approach to identify and respond to macroeconomic and financial stability risks associated with crypto-assets, related information, 17 july 2023 fsb global regulatory framework for crypto-asset activities.

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Craig Gentry's PhD Thesis

The PhD thesis is a complete write-up of my fully homomorphic encryption system. A preliminary version of these results appeared at STOC 2009:

Craig Gentry, Fully homomorphic encryption using ideal lattices, Symposium on the Theory of Computing (STOC), 2009, pp. 169-178.

Download the thesis :    [ PDF ]    BIBTEX ] -->

@phdthesis{homenc, author = {Craig Gentry}, title = {A fully homomorphic encryption scheme}, school = {Stanford University}, year = 2009, note = {\url{crypto.stanford.edu/craig}} }

A high level description of the construction also appeared in the Communications of the ACM :   [ PDF ]

Supported by the NSF, a Stanford Graduate Fellowship, and an IBM PhD fellowship.

106 Cryptocurrency Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best cryptocurrency topic ideas & essay examples, 🎓 good research topics about cryptocurrency, ⭐ simple & easy cryptocurrency essay titles, ❓ cryptocurrency research questions.

• Ethical Implications of the Use of Bitcoin The emergence of cryptocurrency has been a significant breakthrough for global economic policy and practice, and Bitcoin is expected to continue to evolve. In particular, increased states are recognizing Bitcoin and creating legal regulations for […]
• Money Laundering Through Cryptocurrencies This study will try to critique the approaches used by countries to address the aspect of money laundering activities and the risks posed by digital currencies. We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• Aspects of Bitcoin Transaction Threats Thus, it is imperative that the wallets are encrypted and have an offline backup to ensure the information can be accessed even after a DDoS attack. This can be addressed by improving the Bitcoin protocols […]
• Bitcoin and US-China Trade Relationship The fact is that the high pace of development of various ventures and a number of rivals has resulted in the perception of the need for a search for new markets and ways to realize […]
• Aspects of Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Bitcoin is a digital currency that is much different from any other past form of money that has existed in the past.
• Cryptocurrency and Its Impact on the Banking Industry Advanced coding is used to store and transfer cryptocurrency data between the wallet and a public ledger, and encryption is used to confirm transactions.
• Diffusion of Innovation as Exemplified by Bitcoin This paper will give an example of a company officially registered as “Satoshi Nakamoto,” which created and implemented one of the first and most popular cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin.
• Bitcoin: Advantages and Disadvantages The law of supply and demand applies to the cryptocurrency sector since it relies on the rate of interest charged in the market.
• Cryptocurrency Adoption in Africa A cryptocurrency is a type of virtual money that employs encryption to authenticate the ownership of a unit of financial value.
• Cryptocurrency Crimes in Financial Markets One of the most relevant, and important news in recent times is the trend of cryptocurrency crimes in financial markets. In this case, it is necessary to improve security systems concerning the management, control, storage, […]
• Bitcoin Technology: Ethical Considerations and Summing Up Moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conduct of an activity Standards of right and wrong that exist in society and guide the individual in terms of rights and responsibilities, justice, virtue, […]
• The Cryptocurrency Concept Analysis The basis of cryptocurrency operations is essential codes that allow the private exchange of business. The anonymity of banks and other government organizations poses a big threat to the operation of cryptocurrencies.
• Bitcoin: The Key Characteristics In theory, this should increase the cybersecurity of the use of such money, and this presentation will detail the characteristics of Bitcoin as one of the most important cryptocurrencies of our time.
• Analysis of Solana Cryptocurrency An investment in Solana is a safer choice among cryptocurrencies, yet it has the potential to multiply one’s savings. Solana has the potential to overcome these barriers and turn into a globally accepted currency.
• Bonds and Stocks vs. Cryptocurrency Volkswagen stock is in that category as the stock witnessed a gain of seven percent over the last year. Despite all the popularity of the idea that crypto is a great asset, buying one is […]
• Cryptocurrency and Its Instability Issues The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of cryptocurrency, its characteristics, and impact on the basis of literature review to answer the research question: Is cryptocurrency unstable? It cannot be double-spent or […]
• “Cryptocurrency and the Problem of Intermediation” by Harwick The article titled “Cryptocurrency and the problem of intermediation” discusses the vital point of crypto development. The purpose of this paper is to identify the objectives, approach, methodology, and other details described in the given […]
• Power, Property, and Freedom: Bitcoin Discourse In the modern world, all people have the right to freedom and property, but not all have the power to decide who may have this freedom and property.
• Cryptocurrency and Its Taxation in Australia Today, the financial systems of separate states and other aspects of the economy are improving and progressing in the context of globalization, the spread of IT technologies, and general computerization.
• Precious Metal and Cryptocurrency: Demand Forecasting Modern demand forecasting technologies help to minimize working expenses and achieve maximum value from capital investments.
• PayPal’s Big Bitcoin News PayPal is one of the latest financial companies to embrace Bitcoin as a currency in its services, a step that has potential benefits to the institution and its clients.
• Blockchain and Bitcoin Technology The literature review presented below describes the possible future trends of blockchain and bitcoin technology, future trends of its application, and the potential implementation in the United Arab Emirates private and government sectors.
• Cryptocurrency Exchange Market Prediction and Analysis Using Data Mining and Artificial Intelligence This paper aims to review the application of A.I.in the context of blockchain finance by examining scholarly articles to determine whether the A.I.algorithm can be used to analyze this financial market.
• Bitcoin Issues in Accounting Information System This paper addresses one of the issues related to the use of Bitcoin in terms of accounting information systems. On balance, it is necessary to observe that the increasing use of Bitcoin calls for changes […]
• Rise of Cryptocurrency The increased importance of cryptocurrency peculiar to the recent several years contributed to significant attention devoted to the investigation of this potentially beneficial means of payment.
• Factors Impacting Cryptocurrencies’ Adoption The high speed of the world’s transformation under the impact of innovations was increased by the emergence of the Internet, and it is becoming a potent tool in managing various activities.
• Cryptocurrencies and Financial Technology The development of the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, launched in 2009, led to the creation of a new sector in the field of economy called financial technology.
• Bitcoin and Ripple in the Next 50 Years Many countries such as India, Indonesia, and Japan among others have endorsed the use of Bitcoin and Ripple, despite the lack of clear policies on the operations and sustainability of such new digital currencies.
• Cryptocurrencies and Their Regulation Features The introduction of cryptocurrencies into the global financial system has led to the growth of a new sector of finance known as FinTech.
• Bitcoin Digital Currency Usage It is the central player in the market of the digital currencies and can be considered as one of the concepts that have an impact on the development of the modern e-commerce.
• Bitcoin Digital Currency: Advantages and Disadvantages According to Bouoiyour and Selmi, the absence of intermediaries in bitcoin transactions and the involvement of parties to a business is a milestone that amplifies its position in the currency platform.
• Cryptocurrency Technologies: Communication Theories Therefore, the concept of buying and reselling the cryptocurrency implies following the communication privacy management theory, as well as the uncertainty reduction theory, which is caused by the natural desire of the majority of the […]
• Online Payment Opportunities: PayPal and Bitcoin However, it is necessary to understand that online operations have a number of peculiarities and obligations, and one of them is the necessity to choose a proper payment method.
• Cryptocurrency Schemes Creating Artificial Bubbles The introduction of cryptocurrencies in the recent past is one of the outcomes of innovation in the money market. The growth of cryptocurrencies has influenced the development of new business opportunities that have contributed to […]
• Bitcoin: Economics, Technology, and Governance The scarcity of paper money is caused and ensured by unequal access to technology, and the scarcity of book money, in its turn, is regulated by legal rules. What is the full title of the […]
• The Economic Impact of Adopting Bitcoin as an Alternative for Goods and Services The creation of Bitcoin is known as a mining activity because computers work constantly to solve the mathematical problems, and the result is the presentation of encrypted keys that are used as coins.
• Volatility Spillovers Among the Cryptocurrency Time Series
• High-Frequency Volatility Co-movements in Cryptocurrency Markets
• Cryptocurrency Framework Diagnostics From Islamic Finance Perspective: A New Insight of Bitcoin System Transaction
• Bitcoin the Cryptocurrency: Stimulating Global Economic Growth
• Flexible Majority Rules for Cryptocurrency Issuance
• Cryptocurrency: Era and Field of Financial Innovations
• Investment Behaviors in Cryptocurrency
• Ban Ads for Cryptocurrencies, Cryptocurrency Products, and Initial Coin Offerings
• Diversification, Integration, and Cryptocurrency Market
• The Adaptive Market Hypothesis in the High-Frequency Cryptocurrency Market
• Cryptocurrency, Artificial Intelligence and Basic Income as Innovative Technological System
• Momentum and Contrarian Effects on the Cryptocurrency Market
• Information Demand and Cryptocurrency Market Activity
• Cryptocurrency Advantages and Disadvantages
• Variables Influencing Cryptocurrency Use: A Technology Acceptance Model
• Ransomware Cryptocurrency and Computer Security
• Blockchain Cryptocurrency Backed With Full Faith and Credit
• Navigating the Cryptocurrency Landscape: An Islamic Perspective
• Analyzing Social Media Forums to Discover Potential Causes of Phasic Shifts in Cryptocurrency Price Series
• Information Interdependence Among Energy, Cryptocurrency, and Significant Commodity Markets
• Price Delay and Market Frictions in Cryptocurrency Markets
• Cryptocurrency and the Current Challenges Facing the Market
• Blockchain Applications and Innovations in the Field of Cybersecurity Using Cryptocurrency
• Cryptocurrency Market Contagion: Market Uncertainty, Complexity, and Dynamic Portfolios
• Anticipating Cryptocurrency Prices Using Machine Learning
• Blockchain Structure and Cryptocurrency Prices
• Long- And Short-Term Cryptocurrency Volatility Components
• Factors Influencing Cryptocurrency Prices: Evidence From Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash, Litcoin, and Monero
• Cryptocurrency Traders: Pioneers or Risk-Seekers
• Cryptocurrency Market Structure: Connecting Emotions and Economics
• Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies as an Instrument of Crime in Cyberspace
• Multivariate Stable Distributions and Their Applications for Modeling Cryptocurrency-Returns
• The History, Ethics, Advantages, and Disadvantages of Bitcoin and Others Cryptocurrencies
• Deep Convolutional Autoencoder for Cryptocurrency Market Analysis
• Forecasting Cryptocurrency Returns and Volume Using Search Engines
• Governments Approach Cryptocurrency Regulation
• Distributed Management and Bitcoins: Cryptocurrency Banking Systems
• Machine Learning and Predicting the Price of Constituents and Index of Cryptocurrency
• Initial Coin Offerings: Financing Growth With Cryptocurrency Token Sales
• Negative Bubbles and Shocks in Cryptocurrency Markets
• How Can Cryptocurrency Change the Future of the Economy?
• How Are GPUs Used in Cryptocurrency Mining?
• What Are the Advantages of Cryptocurrency?
• What Is Cryptocurrency in General?
• What Are Other Types of Cryptocurrency Out There?
• What Can You Buy With Cryptocurrency, and How?
• How Safe Is Cryptocurrency?
• What Regulations and Requirements Govern Bitcoin?
• What Do the Big Banks and Mainstream Institutions Think of Bitcoin?
• What Is Cryptocurrency, and How Does It Work?
• Is It Wise to Invest in Cryptocurrency?
• What Are the Four Types of Cryptocurrency?
• Is Cryptocurrency Different From Bitcoin?
• Is Crypto Real Money?
• How Do You Make Money With Crypto?
• Can You Get Rich on Crypto?
• How Do Beginners Invest in Bitcoins?
• Does the Cryptocurrency Market Exhibits Feedback Trading?
• Is Cryptocurrency Legal?
• What Is the Disadvantage of Cryptocurrency?
• How Does Cryptocurrency Work, the Beginner?
• Which Cryptocurrency Is Best to Buy?
• How Does Bitcoin Make Money?
• How Does Cryptocurrency Security Impact Economic Issues?
• Is Cryptocurrency Safe?
• Why Should You Invest in Cryptocurrency?
• What Is the Primary Purpose of Cryptocurrency?
• Is There a Future in Cryptocurrency?
• When Should Invest in Cryptocurrency?
• Which Is the Benefits and Drawbacks of Cryptocurrency?
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Schneier on Security

Home Essays

In Memoriam: Ross Anderson, 1956-2024

• Communications of the ACM
• April 9, 2024

Ross Anderson unexpectedly passed away in his sleep on March 28th in his home in Cambridge. He was 67.

I can’t remember when I first met Ross. It was well before 2008, when we created the Security and Human Behavior workshop. It was before 2001, when we created the Workshop on Economics and Information Security (okay, he created that one, I just helped). It was before 1998, when we first wrote about the insecurity of key escrow systems. In 1996, I was one of the people he brought to the Newton Institute at Cambridge University, for the six-month cryptography residency program he ran (I made a mistake not staying the whole time)—so it was before then as well.

I know I was at the first Fast Software Encryption workshop in December 1993, the first conference he created. There, I presented the Blowfish encryption algorithm. Pulling an old first edition of Applied Cryptography (the one with the blue cover) down from my shelf, I see his name in the acknowledgments. This means that at either the 1992 Crypto conference in Santa Barbara or the 1993 Eurocrypt in Lofthus, Norway, I, as an unpublished book author who had written a few cryptography articles for Dr. Dobb’s Journal , asked him to read and comment on my book manuscript. And he said yes. Which means I mailed him a paper copy. And he read it, and mailed his handwritten comments back to me. In an envelope with stamps. Because that’s how we did it back then.

This is back when "crypto" meant cryptography, and we would laugh when military types said "cyber" or "cybersecurity." We all called it "computer security" and then "Internet security."

I have known Ross for over 30 years, both as a colleague and a friend. He was enthusiastic, brilliant, opinionated, articulate, curmudgeonly, and kind. Pick up any of his academic papers and articles—there are 302 entries on his webpage —and odds are that you will find at least one unexpected insight that will change how you think about security. He was a security engineer, but also very much a generalist. He published on block cipher cryptanalysis in the 1990s, on the security of large-language models last year, and on pretty much everything else in between.

His masterwork book, Security Engineering —1,200 pages in its third edition—illustrates that breadth. It is as comprehensive a tome on computer security and related topics as you could imagine. Twenty-nine chapters cover everything from access control to tamper resistance, from banking security to nuclear command and control, and from psychology to security printing. Every page is infused with his knowledge, expertise, wisdom, and uncanny ability to cut through the nonsense that too often surrounds traditional security disciplines. (Also note his 15-lecture video series on that same webpage. If you have never heard Ross lecture, you’re in for a treat.)

Ross was a pragmatic visionary. His mastery of both the technologies and the underlying policy issues showed a deep command of multiple fields , and a rare capability to both work within them and synthesize around them. He was also able to weave this knowledge into narratives that were both compelling and comprehensible to the layperson. In his 1993 paper " Why Cryptosystems Fail ," he pointed out that both cryptography and computer security got threat modeling all wrong, and that we were solving the wrong problems. It’s not the math, he wrote; it’s the implementation and the people and the procedures. In 2001, he was the first person to recognize that security problems are often actually economic problems , kick-starting the academic discipline of security economics.

He didn’t suffer fools in either government or the corporate world, giving them no quarter by disproving their security claims. As a graduate student, he defended people accused of stealing from ATM machines by banks who maintained that their security was foolproof. It was a pattern that repeated itself throughout his career: analyze a real-world security system from all angles, understand how it fails, and then publish the results—angering the powers in charge of that security system.

Here’s one example of many. In 2014, he was hired as an expert witness to defend people accused of tampering with the curfew tags used for offender monitoring. He studied the physical tags and their security, and also the economic, policy, and security implications of the tagging system. He even went as far as to wear an ankle bracelet himself. It promptly broke, proving his point. You can read the whole story in Chapter 14 of the third edition of his book.

That sense of justice and confronting power infused much of his work. He fought against surveillance and backdoors. He and I were part of the second and third academic take-downs of government attempts to break encryption. His 2022 rebuttal of child protection as a pretense to break encryption is particularly scathing.

Ross also fought for academic freedom, repeatedly publishing his findings in the face of corporate threats. Many things we all use are more secure today because of Ross’s work.

He was a blistering letter writer to those he believed deserved it. Verbally, he could be a hurricane in your face if he disagreed with you, but he would also engage with your points and was always willing to change his mind. And he enthused about, argued with, and listened to everybody: students, colleagues, partners of students and colleagues, random people he crossed paths with. Everyone was a sounding board for whatever ideas he had in is head.

And his head was constantly filled with ideas—mostly good, some not so good—and seemingly inexhaustible energy to implement them. He founded five different conferences, including the Information Hiding Workshop and Decepticon. He co-founded the Cambridge Cybercrime Centre . He founded the U.K.’s Foundation for Information Policy Research , and wrote most of the papers that the organization submitted to Parliamentary Inquiries on dumb legislative ideas. When the legislative center of power moved to Brussels, he helped form the European Digital Rights organization to provide advice there.

All this was part of his gift of fostering community. And it’s nowhere more evident than his legacy of graduate students at Cambridge University. His CV lists thirty-two of them, and seven more that he was currently advising. Many have carried his legacy of pragmatic security analysis of real-world systems.

Ross was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2009. In 2016, he was awarded the British Computer Society’s Lovelace Medal, the U.K.’s top prize in computing. From 2021, he split his time as a professor between the University of Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2023. He was absolutely rageful against Cambridge University for making him retire at 67—and he was right.

He also play ed the bagpipes throughout his life. I dedicated a 1998 cryptography paper, " The Street Performer Protocol ," to him because he "spent some of his youth busking on the streets of Germany with his bagpipes." Those were good stories.

He is listed in the acknowledgments as a reader of every one of my books from Beyond Fear on. Recently, we’d see each other a couple of times a year, at this or that workshop or event. He hosted me at Security and Human Behavor at Cambridge’s Churchill College in 2022. The last time I saw him was last June at SHB in Pittsburgh. We were having dinner on Alessandro Acquisti ‘s rooftop patio to celebrate another successful workshop. He was going to attend my Workshop on Reimagining Democracy in December 2023, but had to cancel at the last minute. The day before he died, we were discussing how to accommodate everyone who registered for this year’s SHB workshop in December. I learned something from him every single time we talked. And I am not the only one.

My heart goes out to his wife Shireen, their daughter Bavani, and the rest of their family. We lost him much too soon.

Categories: Computer and Information Security

Tags: Communications of the ACM

Sidebar photo of Bruce Schneier by Joe MacInnis.

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