Title: Cryptocurrencies and blockchain. Overview and future perspectives

Authors: Helder Miguel Correia Virtuoso Sebastião; Paulo José Osório Rupino Da Cunha; Pedro Manuel Cortesão Godinho

Addresses: Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, CeBER, 3004-512 Coimbra, Portugal ' Department of Informatics Engineering, University of Coimbra, CISUC, 3030-290 Coimbra, Portugal ' Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, CeBER, 3004-512 Coimbra, Portugal

Abstract: This paper presents an overview of the main developments of cryptocurrencies and discusses their future perspectives. First, it briefly reviews the history of cryptocurrencies since the creation of Bitcoin, presents the main market trends, and discusses the key features of cryptocurrencies in the context of blockchain. Second, it analyses current cryptocurrency projects, like the Libra project, and other applications of the blockchain technology. Third, it presents a systematic economics and financial literature review on cryptocurrencies. Fourth, it examines the challenges, benefits, and future perspectives of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, with a focus on the environmental issues and central bank digital currencies.

Keywords: Bitcoin; blockchain; cryptocurrencies; digital coins; Libra; Ethereum; market efficiency; central bank digital currencies; survey.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEBR.2021.114400

International Journal of Economics and Business Research, 2021 Vol.21 No.3, pp.305 - 342

Received: 20 Apr 2020
Accepted: 01 Jul 2020
Published online: 20 Apr 2021 *

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