Payments
Cryptocurrency emerged in 2008 with the Bitcoin whitepaper as a scientific experiment. In less than ten years, it had become a part of the global financial system with the capitalization of trillions of dollars.
- It is decentralized: There is no central server, nor a specific actor responsible for the system. The transfer of funds can be initiated easily by the customer, for example through the use of an app, without the involvement of traditional financial institutions such as banks and payment institutions.
- It is anonymous: Although there is a public ledger of transactions, it only contains account numbers (so-called “addresses”). It does not include any names, phone numbers or even IP addresses.
- The system consists of a large network of small dealers, ATMs, and exchange providers where cryptocurrency can be easily exchanged to and from usual (so-called “fiat”) money.