Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP14972
Authors: Hanna Halaburda; Guillaume Haeringer; Joshua Gans; Neil Gandal
Abstract: Since its launch in 2009 much has been written about Bitcoin, cryptocurrenciesand blockchains. While the discussions initially took place mostly on blogs and otherpopular media, we now are witnessing the emergence of a growing body of rigorousacademic research on these topics. By the nature of the phenomenon analyzed, this researchspans many academic disciplines including macroeconomics, law and economicsand computer science. This survey focuses on the microeconomics of cryptocurrenciesthemselves. What drives their supply, demand, trading price and competition amongstthem. This literature has been emerging over the past decade and the purpose of thispaper is to summarize its main findings so as to establish a base upon which futureresearch can be conducted.
Keywords: cryptocurrencies; bitcoin; blockchain
JEL Codes: No JEL codes provided
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Decentralized nature of Bitcoin ecosystem (E42) | Transaction efficiency (G14) |
| Decentralized nature of Bitcoin ecosystem (E42) | User trust (Z13) |
| Mining activities (L72) | Supply of Bitcoin (E42) |
| Block rewards and transaction fees (E42) | Mining activities (L72) |
| Higher rewards (J33) | Increased mining activity (L72) |
| Market manipulation attempts (G18) | Price volatility (G13) |
| External factors (regulatory environments and trading behaviors) (F69) | Price of cryptocurrencies (G13) |
| Competition among cryptocurrencies (E42) | Comparative analysis of economic viability and user adoption (O22) |