Stakeholder Viewpoints on Cryptocurrencies

Abstract

Cryptocurrency stakeholders include cryptocurrency end-users, investors, developers, market enablers, researchers, and financial regulatory agents. They are key components of the crypto ecosystem and major determinants of cryptocurrencies’ future direction. Analyzing viewpoints of each stakeholder group help understand the impact of cryptocurrencies to the financial system and to society at large. Cryptocurrencies are one of the top financial innovations of our era and the technology behind it, the blockchain technology, is a technology that will revolutionize every sector in the future. Due to limited resources, scarcity of expertise and novelty of the research area, a systematic review of literature is used to understand stakeholder viewpoints on cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies are unlikely to compete with legal currency (both fiat and virtual currencies) due to their price volatility and anonymity nature. However, depending on the economic and political stability of the region, they could be a preferred alternative to transfer money and storing of value. Short-term investors and cryptocurrency end-users in politically and economically stable regions (CESR) appreciate the price volatility of cryptocurrencies whereas retailers, end-users in politically and economically unstable regions (CEUR), and long-term investors demand a more stable cryptocurrency. Financial regulatory agents in most unstable regions find cryptocurrencies a threat and destabilizer of their financial system and mostly take a stance to impose harsh measures in restricting or banning their circulation within their territory.