Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology are interesting fields. They are highly technical and can impact almost any other field they intersect.
Many crypto enthusiasts prefer sticking to the basics when they try learning more about the field. Their knowledge is limited to how to buy cryptocurrency from an exchange, how fiat conversions work, whether or not it is wise to buy crypto with a credit card, etc.
However, many enthusiasts prefer diving deeper into these topics, such as how cryptocurrency markets work and how crypto price is determined. So, for them, we have come up with this article and a list of academic papers on crypto and blockchain.
#1 Security and Privacy in Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies and the related blockchain technologies are eerily similar to the panoply of security threats. Whether it is a hack on an exchange, there is no shortage of ways that sensitive information can be lost.
Cryptocurrencies also lack a global central authority, which means that there is no single entity (the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) that can monitor for securities law violations.
The paper notes other issues such as non-repudiation (the ability for a sender to prove without question that the message was sent), data protection, identity verification, and financial privacy (the ability for one person to send funds anonymously).
#2 Blockchain Research. An exploration of CRYPTO-CURRENCY and its Perspectives
Blockchain technology is an innovative, disruptive application of computer science that enables a distributed database to contain digital information records called blocks.
Each block contains related information, such as the unique bitcoin address of each coin holder and proof of transaction history. The data is stored in a public distributed ledger (or blockchain) that serves as the basis for all cryptocurrency transactions.
The basic idea behind the blockchain lies in cryptography: data ownership in a decentralized system that cannot be tampered with centrally. Publicly available blockchains are inherently transparent because everyone can check out the latest state of affairs at any given moment. Each node has access to exactly what it needs to verify smart contracts within its blockchain and know if they are valid or not.
There are three key characteristics of cryptocurrencies: they exist solely online (often on the internet), unlike the physical currency, they are decentralized, and they are unregulated with no central authority running them (although some governments have stepped in since then).
As with so many other things in life, most currencies today function rather like fiat money: government-issued paper bills printed by banks which have no intrinsic value but hold value because people perceive them as having value—they are backed by external trustworthiness (in this case, central banks).
The trust in fiat currency was created by a system where one entity (the government) controls all aspects of how money is created and transferred—called fractional-reserve banking.
#3 The Economics of Crypto-currency and Cybercrime
The study of cryptocurrencies, or digital currencies like Bitcoin, has always been a fascinating and challenging topic. The most recent development in the field is the rise of blockchain technology.
Blockchain technology allows for the creation of new apps and platforms that are not controlled by a centralized system but instead can be easily accessed and verified by anyone using a digital wallet. That would make it far easier to track fraudulent activities (as they’d be made public), prevent identity theft, and even make transactions more secure as all parties are kept in the loop.
#4 An Overview of Blockchain Technology: Architecture, Consensus, and Future Trends
One of the key technologies behind cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology (the underlying protocols that enable them) is a decentralized data store known as a blockchain. This ledger’s transparency, security, and distributed consensus are what make the prospect of distributed applications like Bitcoin feasible.
Blockchain technology can be described by five key features:
- Decentralized Ledger – Unlike a centralized database, which requires access to all or parts of the database for changes to be accepted, blockchain networks only require every member to validate and record every transaction on the network. That makes it impossible for one entity to edit or delete transactions from the ledger without proof that they were valid at some point in time.
- Peer-to-Peer Network – The network has no central server; members must connect directly and indirectly through special nodes to make transactions.
- Anonymous Transactions – Anyone can participate in any trade or purchase on the network without knowing who the counterparty is.
- Transparent Transactions – All transactions are recorded in history forever so that anyone can verify them at any time using publicly available information on previous transactions—including digital signatures attached to previous transactions that prove their legitimacy—and then execute new connections based on these validated chains of past blocks of activity. It’s also possible for people looking at historical events to connect those events with individual participants involved.
To ensure that you get the most out of these papers, learn how to read academic research papers. So, you can retain more information from these papers and enjoy reading them.
