Investing in cryptocurrency
Bitcoin, or bitcoin, is a peer-to-peer payment system that uses a unit of the same name to record transactions. The system uses cryptographic methods to ensure its operation and security, but all information about transactions between addresses in the system is publicly available.
The smallest transferable value (the smallest bitcoin), 10-8, is called "satoshi", after the creator Satoshi Nakamoto, though he himself used the word "cent" in such cases.
An electronic payment between two parties is unmediated and irreversible - there is no mechanism for reversing a confirmed transaction (including when the payment was sent to an incorrect or non-existent address, or when the transaction was signed with a private key that has become known to others). Funds cannot be blocked (seized), even temporarily, except for the owner of the private key (or the person to whom it has become known). But the provided multi-signature technology allows to involve a third party (arbitrator) and to implement "reversible transactions". With a special scripting language, it is possible to implement other variants of smart contracts, but it is not accessible from the GUI and is not Turing-complete, unlike later blockchain systems .
Different authors classify bitcoins in different ways. The most common variants are: cryptocurrency, virtual currency, digital currency, electronic cash.
Bitcoins can be used to exchange for goods or services from merchants that agree to accept them. Exchange for conventional currencies takes place through online digital currency exchange services, other payment systems, exchanges or directly between interested parties. Bitcoin's value depends solely on the balance of supply and demand and is not regulated or restrained by anyone. There is no obligation to accept bitcoins, meaning that there is no mechanism to get anything for them if for some reason they refuse to be bought or accepted for payment.
Transaction fees are set voluntarily by the sender. The amount of the fee affects the priority in processing the transaction. Usually the client software prompts for a recommended fee. Transactions without fees are possible and are also processed, but are not recommended, as the processing time is unknown and can be quite long.
One of the main features of the system is complete decentralisation: there is no central administrator or any equivalent. A necessary and sufficient element of this payment system is the underlying client software (open source). Client programs running on many computers are interconnected into a peer-to-peer network, each node of which is equal and self-sufficient. There can be no public or private control of the system, including changing the total number of bitcoins. The amount and timing of new bitcoins are known in advance, but they are distributed relatively randomly among those who use their equipment for computing, which results in a mechanism to regulate and validate Bitcoin transactions.
One consequence of decentralisation is the potential for "double spending", that is, transferring the same bitcoins to different recipients. Under normal circumstances, the inclusion of the transaction in the blockchain protects against this. But if more than 50% of the total processing power of a bitcoin network is controlled, there is a theoretical possibility of "replacing" one chain of transactions with another
BLOCKCHAIN ALMIGHTY: AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
ON THE TECHNOLOGICAL POTENTIAL OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES
A characteristic feature of the position of regulators in Russia is the emphasis on the function of
cryptocurrencies as an uncontrolled analogue/substitute of official money. With
This way of looking at the problem, alternative approaches can be overlooked,
business models and opportunities for the use of blockchain technology may be overlooked.
First, there may be models in which the state itself plays an active role as an intermediary in the cryptocurrency trading and exchange ecosystem. In particular, Russian experts have already voiced the hypothetical possibility of creating
state bitcoin exchange in Russia. Such a move would help solve the problem of
with the identification of intermediaries in transactions involving bitcoin as one of
as one of the AML/CFT measures. The emergence of a centralised legal exchange could also
help consolidate the Russian bitcoin industry and give the green light to
ANALYSIS
SECURITY INDEX
to invest in the cryptocurrency segment for large corporate players like
Sberbank.
A more promising idea, allowing the government itself to become involved in the cryptocurrency economy segment, was proposed by the Bank of England in spring 2015. The regulator's policy brief examines the theoretical prospects of
of national central banks issuing their own cryptocurrencies66. In doing so, it
It mentions the possibility of introducing two types of instruments into circulation: the first