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ABSTRACT
Cryptocurrencies and distributed registers (blockchains) have recently attracted increased interest among specialists from the widest variety of fields. In turn, the public has generated a pool of regularly asked questions, which have not yet been answered thoroughly. This article provides lines of reasoning with regard to several popular questions linked to this subject. It also addresses issues such as the creation of national cryptocurrencies and use of blockchain technology by businesses and governments. In addition, it analyzes the opinion that cryptocurrencies are a financial pyramid. Finally, it briefly examines the configuration of Bitcoin’s distributed register and looks at how this register could be affected by the hypothetical creation of a quantum computer.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. Programma “Tsifrovaia ekonomika Rossiiskoi Federatsii” (available at government.ru).
2. O proekte federal’nogo zakona “O tsifrovykh finansovykh aktivakh” (available at www.minfin.ru).
3. Tether: digital money for a digital age (available at tether.to).
4. From the Latin fiat—decree, order. Decreed money not backed by real value. Most paper money is fiat money.
5. Poloniex cryptocurrency exchange (available at poloniex.com).
6. Market capitalizations of cryptocurrencies (available at coinmarketcap.com).
7. Top trends in the Gartner hype cycle for emerging technologies (available at www.gartner.com).
8. Blockchain commentator (available at www.blockchain.info).
9. Top-10 bitcoin mining pools (available at fomag.ru/news/top-10-mayning-pulov-bitkoina).
10. Cryptographic key length recommendations (available at www.keylength.com).