Over the past few years, bitcoin has become a globally successful and much followed project. It is a kind of decentralized digital currency, which functions based on mathematical-cryptographical principles and is created using a computationally intensive process called mining. Thousands of other alternative crypto currencies exist, which have so far stayed unnoticed by the media, even though they outperform bitcoin in many aspects. The central topic of this paper is the extensive ecosystem of alternative crypto currencies and an analysis of their mining process. The goal is to demonstrate, by means of a practical example, how alternative crypto currencies are mined and also to find out, if it's possible to mine crypto currencies profitably with specific type of a graphic card. To successfully reach this goal I had to first analyse the ecosystem of crypto currencies. Subsequently I compared different crypto currencies to one another and eventually successfully implemented the mining operation and evaluated its results. The main contribution of this paper is to answer the question of whether and how alternative crypto currencies can be profitably mined. I believe the particular benefit of this work rests not only in the practical demonstration of how alternative crypto currencies are mined but also in the summary description of the crypto currency ecosystem's composition and the factors that influence the price of these crypto currencies. Structurally, this paper is divided in three main parts. The first part is dedicated to the explanation of the term crypto currency, what it comprises and according to which principles it functions. The second part contains an analysis of the ecosystem as well as a comparison of a fixed sample of alternative crypto currencies. The third part is the practical part, during which I undertook a real mining operation.

What are substitutes for domestic money and what is their legal regime? Abstract The thesis deals with the position of substitutes for domestic money in the Czech legal system and the phenomenon of substitutes for state money in general. The work is divided into three parts, in the first the author analyzes the current legal regulation of domestic money substitutes in the Czech legal system, concluding that the current regulation is clearly obsolete, while its interpretation by modern legal science is considered not only restrictive but also very formalistic, and thus not completely fulfilling the role set desired by original legislator. At the end of the first part, the author concludes that some selected forms of non-state money (especially corporate money and LETS systems) correspond to the current concept of substitutes for domestic money, but they can not be considered part of modern economic reality. In the second part, the author analyzes modern forms of non-state money with a focus on cryptocurrencies, as the most relevant form of non-state money. The author describes the gradual development and acceptance of virtual currencies both from the perspective of European regulators and from the perspective of their real economic use. The author concludes that a significant part of virtual currencies falls...

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This master’s thesis describes the general information about cryptocurrencies, what principles are used in the process of creation of new coins and why mining cryptocurrencies can be malicious. Further, it discusses what is an IP flow, and how to monitor networks by monitoring network traffic using IP flows. It describes the Nemea framework that is used to build comprehensive system for detecting malicious traffic. It explains how the network data with communications of the cryptocurrencies mining process were obtained and then provides an analysis of this data. Based on this analysis a proposal is created for methods capable of detecting mining cryptocurrencies by using IP flows records. Finally, proposed detection method was evaluated on various networks and the results are further described.

This study discusses the acceptance level of cryptocurrency in countries of the world. Study takes a deep dive on what does affect the acceptance level of cryptocurrency and what should be expected if same changes would to happen in countries income level, technological level, financial level, and education level. The study gives an overview of current up to date situation of cryptocurrency. In this research we have conducted a cross-sectional data analysis of cryptocurrency acceptance level for year 2021. Study is focused on both decentralized and centralized acceptance level thus why the research has treated both transactions volume on exchanges and Defi. The study found that countries with higher income could have higher acceptance level of cryptocurrency, but the effect is not that immense. Other factors such as education, financial access and internet access had an inconclusive effect on the acceptance level. The study also shows that there is no prove of that pervious qualitative research result upholds or have any systematic relation with quantitative research results.

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Background: Due to its decentralized nature and opportunity for substantial gains, cryptocurrency has become a popular investment opportunity. However, the highly unpredictable and volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market poses a challenge for investors looking to predict price movements and make profitable investments. Time series analysis, which recognizes trends and patterns in previous price data to create forecasts about future price movements, is one of the prominent and effective techniques for price prediction. Integrating Machine learning (ML) techniques and technical indicators along with time series analysis can enhance the prediction accuracy significantly. Objectives: The objective of this thesis is to identify an effective ML algorithm for making long-term predictions of Bitcoin prices, by developing prediction models using the ML algorithms and making predictions using the technical indicators(RelativeStrength Index (RSI), Exponential Moving Average (EMA), Simple Moving Average (SMA)) as input for these models. Method: A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) has been employed to identify effective ML algorithms for making long-term predictions of cryptocurrency prices and conduct an experiment on these identified algorithms. The selected algorithms are trained and tested using the technical indicators RSI, EMA, and SMA calculated using the historic price data over a period of May 2017 to May 2023 taken fromCoinGecko API. The models are then evaluated using various metrics and the effect of the indicators on the performance of the prediction models is found using permutation feature importance and correlation analysis. Results: After conducting SLR, the ML algorithms Random Forest (RF), GradientBoosting (GB), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), and Gated Recurrent Unit(GRU) have been identified as effective algorithms to conduct our experiment on. Out of these algorithms, LSTM has been found to be the most accurate model out of the 4 selected algorithms based on Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) score(0.01083), Mean Square Error (MSE) score (0.00011), Coefficient of Determination (R2) score (0.80618), Time-Weighted Average (TWAP) score (0.40507), and Volume-Weighted Average (VWAP) score (0.35660) respectively. Also, by performing permutation feature importance and correlation analysis it was found that the moving averages EMA and SMA had a greater impact on the performance of all the prediction models as compared to RSI. Conclusion: Prediction models were built using the chosen ML algorithms identified through the literature review. Based on the dataset built from the data collected through the CoinGecko database and taking technical indicators as the input features, models were trained and tested using the chosen ML algorithms. The LSTM prediction algorithm was found to be the most accurate out of the chosen algorithms based on the RMSE, R2, TWAP, and VWAP scores obtained.

No / This book provides an interdisciplinary critical perspective regarding risk, uncertainty, and governance challenges of cryptocurrencies. It considers the perspectives of several disciplines including accounting, cybersecurity, cyberlaw, economics, ethics, finance, financial regulation, shariah (Islamic) law and technology. Distinguished from other books on similar topic, our in-depth analysis and critical discourse on cryptocurrency risk categories are supplemented by research evidence gathered from surveys and interviews with stakeholders. The inclusion of an Islamic insight matters given mixed views at present regarding the permissibility of cryptocurrencies albeit some countries have imposed somewhat restricted function of cryptocurrencies for non-religious reasons. It is envisaged that this book will help enlighten stakeholders on this aspect of uncertainty and inspire fit and proper governance strategies for the public interest.

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The underlying technology of cryptocurrencies is a broadly discussed subject. In Sweden, a growing interest for digital assets and payment methods can be observed. The fact that this coincides with an increasing acceptance for cryptocurrencies creates interesting possibilities. Some claim that cryptocurrency could be the future mean of payment. The objective of this report is therefore to examine whether a cryptocurrency could replace the Swedish krona, and what such a transition would imply for the Swedish society. To deliver a thorough analysis, the delimitation to exemplify with the cryptocurrency bitcoin and its protocol was made. Primarily, a literature study was conducted to determine the protocol’s structure, security and usability, as well as its possibility to fulfil the functions of the Swedish krona. In addition, an interview with Björn Segendorf at the Riksbank was held, in order to obtain the Riksbank’s interest and standpoint in the questions of matter. A transition to cryptocurrency is associated with both advantages and disadvantages. The infrastructure behind Bitcoin creates a possibility to process certain payments more time and cost efficiently, and simultaneously provides open and decentralized participation as well as increased payer integrity. However, the Bitcoin protocol has limitations that should be considered and dealt with before a transition should be initialized. The large energy consumption required to process transactions could be considered the largest obstacle for Bitcoin’s further growth. There are also security concerns, that could affect users of the protocol, that should be considered. Sweden fulfils the technical prerequisites for Bitcoin, and any other cryptocurrency with similar structure. However, a cryptocurrency does not fulfil the functions of a traditional currency. A transition to cryptocurrency would also affect the Riksbank’s possibility to conduct monetary policies. Following, the report concludes that a complete transition to cryptocurrency in Sweden seems unfavourable as of today. Cryptocurrencies are likely to grow continuously, and gain new market shares, but will coexist with traditional currencies and payment systems. It is not unlikely that a transition to cryptocurrency will occur in the future, when the market has matured, and solutions to problems highlighted in this report have been presented. / Tekniken bakom kryptovalutor har blivit ett hett diskuterat ämne. I Sverige urskiljs ett allt merväxande intresse för digitala tillgångar och betalmetoder, och att detta sammanfaller med enökande acceptans för kryptovalutor skapar intressanta möjligheter. Vissa menar attkryptovaluta kan vara framtidens betalmedel. Rapportens frågeställning avhandlar därförhuruvida en kryptovaluta skulle kunna ersätta den svenska kronan och vad det skulle innebäraför det svenska samhället. För att utreda frågan har en avgränsning gjorts till att exemplifieramed kryptovalutan bitcoin och dess protokoll. Primärt har en litteraturstudie utförts kring såvälprotokollets uppbyggnad och säkerhet som dess användarvänlighet och möjlighet att axla densvenska kronans funktioner. Dessutom har en intervju genomförts med Björn Segendorf påRiksbanken i syfte att ta del av Riksbankens intresse och ställningstagande i frågan. Det finns såväl fördelar som nackdelar med en övergång till kryptovaluta. Infrastrukturenbakom bitcoin skapar möjlighet att tids- och kostnadseffektivisera betalningar inom vissaområden, och erbjuder samtidigt ett öppet, decentraliserat deltagande, samt ökadanvändarintegritet. Protokollet har dock begränsningar som bör tas i beaktande innan enövergång kan ske. Den höga energikonsumtion som krävs för att bearbeta transaktioner kananses utgöra störst hinder för Bitcoins fortsatta framväxt. Dessutom finns flerasäkerhetsaspekter som riskerar påverka användare av valutan negativt. Sverige har tekniska förutsättningar för att övergå till en kryptovaluta med tekniska kravliknande de för Bitcoin. Emellertid kan en kryptovaluta inte anses uppfylla de krav som ställspå en valuta. En övergång till kryptovaluta skulle även påverka Riksbankens möjlighet attbedriva penningpolitik. Slutsatsen blir således att en total övergång till kryptovaluta i Sverige ter sig ogynnsam med dagens förutsättningar. Kryptovaluta kommer med största sannolikhetatt fortsätta växa och ta marknadsandelar, men kommer att samexistera med traditionellavalutor och betalningssystem. Det känns inte osannolikt att en övergång till kryptovalutakommer att ske i framtiden när marknaden mognat och lösningar, på i rapporten belystaproblem, presenterats.