The Microeconomics of Cryptocurrencies

67 Pages Posted: 19 Nov 2018 Last revised: 29 Dec 2020

See all articles by Hanna Halaburda

Hanna Halaburda

New York University (NYU) - Leonard N. Stern School of Business

Guillaume Haeringer

CUNY Baruch College

Joshua Gans

University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management

Neil Gandal

Berglas School of Economics, Tel Aviv University; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Multiple version iconThere are 4 versions of this paper

Date Written: June 29, 2020

Abstract

Since its launch in 2009 much has been written about Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies
and blockchains. While the discussions initially took place mostly on blogs and other
popular media, we now are witnessing the emergence of a growing body of rigorous
academic research on these topics. By the nature of the phenomenon analyzed, this research
spans many academic disciplines including macroeconomics, law and economics
and computer science. This survey focuses on the microeconomics of cryptocurrencies
themselves. What drives their supply, demand, trading price and competition amongst
them. This literature has been emerging over the past decade and the purpose of this
paper is to summarize its main findings so as to establish a base upon which future
research can be conducted.

Keywords: Bitcoin, blockchain, cryptocurrencies

JEL Classification: A1, D4, L0, O3, Y2

Suggested Citation

Halaburda, Hanna and Haeringer, Guillaume and Gans, Joshua and Gandal, Neil, The Microeconomics of Cryptocurrencies (June 29, 2020). Journal of Economic Literature (forthcoming), NYU Stern School of Business, Baruch College Zicklin School of Business Research Paper No. 2018-10-02, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3274331 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3274331

Hanna Halaburda (Contact Author)

New York University (NYU) - Leonard N. Stern School of Business ( email )

44 West 4th Street
New York, NY NY 10012
United States

Guillaume Haeringer

CUNY Baruch College ( email )

17 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10021
United States

Joshua Gans

University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management ( email )

105 St. George Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E6 M5S1S4
Canada

Neil Gandal

Berglas School of Economics, Tel Aviv University ( email )

Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv 69978
Israel
+972 3 640 9907 (Phone)
+972 3 640 9908 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.neilgandal.com/

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

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