1st Edition
An Introduction to Cryptocurrencies The Crypto Market Ecosystem
The Crypto Market Ecosystem has emerged as the most profound application of blockchain technology in finance. This textbook adopts an integrated approach, linking traditional functions of the current financial system (payments, traded assets, fundraising, regulation) with the respective functions in the crypto market, in order to facilitate the reader in their understanding of how this new ecosystem works.
The book walks the reader through the main features of the blockchain technology, the definitions, classifications, and distinct characteristics of cryptocurrencies and tokens, how these are evaluated, how funds are raised in the cryptocurrency ecosystem (ICOs), and what the main regulatory approaches are. The authors have compiled more than 100 sources from different sub-fields of economics, finance, and regulation to create a coherent textbook that provides the reader with a clear and easily understandable picture of the new world of encrypted finance and its applications.
The book is primarily aimed at business and finance students, who already have an understanding of the basic principles of how the financial system works, but also targets a more general readership, by virtue of its broader scope and engaging and accessible tone.
List of Figures and Tables
Chapter 1: The new era of encrypted Finance
1.1 The traditional financial system and its main counterparts
1.2. The new era of finance: encrypting the financial system
1.3. Introducing the main counterparts of the new encrypted financial system
Chapter 2: The Infrastructure: the Blockchain technology
2.1. What is blockchain technology
2.2. How the blockchain technology works
2.3. How blockchain mining works
2.4. Blockchain Consensus Mechanisms
2.5. Blockchain 2.0: The Ethereum platform
2.6. Smart Contracts
2.7. Alternative uses of Blockchain Technology
Chapter 3: The traded assets: Introduction to Cryptocurrencies
3.1. Definitions and Taxonomy: Digital currencies, Virtual Currencies, Cryptocurrencies, Tokens
3.1.1. Digital currencies
3.1.2. Virtual Currencies
3.1.3. Cryptocurrencies
3.1.4. Tokens
3.2. How do cryptocurrencies transactions work
3.3. Properties and main characteristics of cryptocurrencies
3.4. Altcoins (Alternative Cryptocurrencies)
3.5. Trends in the Cryptocurrency market
3.6. Stablecoins
Chapter 4: "Tokenomics" and Valuation
4.1. Barriers to Pricing and Valuation
4.2. Token Supply and Demand Model
4.3. Quantity Theory of Money
4.4. Token Economics of Utility
4.5. Combining the monetary policies and the economics of utility
4.6. Discounted Cash Flows Model
4.7. Technical analysis
4.7.1. Assumptions of technical analysis
4.7.2. Tools of technical analysis and some crypto market examples
4.7.3. Technical analysis and the crypto market: Exploring the EMH
Chapter 5: Fund raising: Initial Coin Offerings: (ICOs)
5.1. Defining Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)
5.2. The road to ICOs
5.3. How does an ICO work
5.4. Main features of an ICO
5.5. The Tokens
5.6. The importance of Whitepaper in ICOs
5.7. Comparing ICOs with IPOs and Crowdfunding
Chapter 6: The Regulatory Framework
6.1. Introduction
6.2. United States of America
6.3. Singapore
6.4. Canada
6.5. China – South Korea
6.6. United Kingdom
6.7. Australia
6.8. Switzerland
6.9. Japan
6.10. European Union
6.11. Comparative analysis and conclusions of regulatory approaches
Index
Biography
Nikos Daskalakis, PhD, is Assistant Professor in Finance and Accounting in Panteion University, Athens, Greece, and a former member of the Banking Stakeholder Group (BSG) of the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Crowdfunding Stakeholder Forum (ECSF), and the Financial Services User Group (FSUG) of the European Commission. He is an experienced researcher who has published widely cited articles in numerous top-rated journals, and his scientific interests are on crowdfunding, blockchain applications in finance, and SMEs access to finance.
Panagiotis Georgitseas is an Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism Analyst in the Compliance Group at Eurobank and a PhD Candidate in the department of Public Administration in Panteion University of Athens. His prior work experience was in Trade Finance Division (Proton Bank S.A) and in Payment Systems Department (Eurobank). He is member of the Economic Chamber of Greece and his research interests focus on the Economics of Blockchain and to Cryptocurrencies Ecosystem.
