Executive Summary

Cryptocurrency is essentially computer code that proponents claim can, or one day will, be used the way we use money for financial transactions. To the extent it is being used today for transactions (other than simply buying and selling crypto itself) its main use is for crime. Aside from their usefulness for illicit activities, cryptocurrencies are mainly speculative assets attracting investment from people who believe they will one day be used as money, and people who see a way to profit from those who hold this belief.

Crypto is founded on the premise that it will allow people to make transactions free of government and free of intermediaries like banks. However, today the crypto industry is dominated by large…