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Cryptocurrency
Since 2009· Asset or instrument
Experts disagreeEconomists or investors genuinely disagree.
Digital tokens recorded on public blockchains, transferred without a bank, and secured by cryptography rather than a central issuer.
See it on the Money & Finance map →How it works
A blockchain is a shared ledger copied across thousands of computers; new entries are added in batches ('blocks') under rules every computer checks. Owning crypto means controlling a private key, a secret code that authorizes transfers; lose it and the coins are gone. Thousands of tokens exist, led by bitcoin and ether. Total market value swung from under $1 trillion in late 2022 to over $4 trillion in 2025. US investors can hold it through exchanges or, since 2024, spot ETFs.
Why it matters
It challenges the idea that money must come from governments and is now a mainstream, very volatile asset; it is also a favored tool of fraudsters and launderers.
Facts, rules and data
Public blockchains anyone can inspect; market data from CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap; Chainalysis studies of illicit use; court records from cases such as FTX.
Debates and risks
Whether crypto is money, a commodity or a security, as US law is still being written, and whether it has lasting uses beyond speculation.
Inside this (3)
Connections (7)
▸Cryptocurrency tests the definition of What money is: a shared, transferable claimExperts disagree
The connection
Money is usually defined by three jobs: medium of exchange, unit of account and store of value. Most crypto struggles at all three: few prices are quoted in bitcoin, its value swings sharply, and fees can be high. Stablecoins do better only by borrowing the dollar's unit. Crypto thus asks: is money whatever people accept, or what a state backs?
When and why
The debate began with bitcoin in 2009. El Salvador made bitcoin legal tender in 2021, the biggest real test, then dropped the requirement in 2025 under an IMF deal.
How solid is the link?
A 2022 NBER study found most Salvadorans stopped using the government's bitcoin wallet after spending its $30 sign-up bonus; few merchants anywhere price goods in crypto.
Debates and risks
Whether a token with no issuer can ever work as everyday money, or will stay a speculative asset, perhaps 'digital gold', remains unresolved.
▸Bitcoin was the first CryptocurrencyFact, law or data
The connection
Bitcoin solved the 'double-spend' problem, stopping the same digital coin from being spent twice, without a central authority, using a public ledger kept honest by proof-of-work mining. Earlier digital cash, such as 1990s DigiCash, needed a company in the middle. Every later cryptocurrency copied or modified its design, and bitcoin still makes up about 60% of crypto's total value.
When and why
Satoshi Nakamoto's network went live January 3, 2009; the first alternative coins, such as Namecoin and Litecoin, followed in 2011.
How we know
Bitcoin's open-source code and full transaction history are public; its white paper cites earlier ideas such as Wei Dai's b-money and Adam Back's Hashcash.
Debates and risks
Satoshi's identity remains unknown; a UK court ruled in 2024 that Craig Wright, who claimed the title, is not Satoshi.
▸Ethereum and smart contracts is the second-largest CryptocurrencyFact, law or data
The connection
Bitcoin is mainly a coin; Ethereum added a general-purpose computer running on a blockchain. That opened crypto to lending and trading apps ('DeFi'), NFTs and tokens issued by others on its network. Its token, ether, ranks second to bitcoin by market value, at roughly a tenth to a quarter of bitcoin's size in 2025.
When and why
Vitalik Buterin's 2013 white paper; launched July 30, 2015; switched to proof of stake in September 2022; US spot ether ETFs from July 2024.
How we know
Market data from CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap; the public blockchain records every contract and transaction.
Debates and risks
US regulators long disagreed on whether ether is a commodity or a security, and faster rivals such as Solana compete for its role.
▸Cryptocurrency suffered its most notorious fraud in FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried (2022)Fact, law or data
The connection
Crypto exchanges hold customers' coins and cash much like a broker, but in 2022 most operated offshore without broker-style rules on separating client assets. That gap let FTX treat deposits as a pool its affiliate could tap. Crypto's 2022 price crash hurt Alameda's bets and made its collateral, FTX's own token, fragile.
When and why
FTX in the Bahamas and Alameda Research, 2019–2022; collapse November 6–11, 2022, after Binance moved to sell its FTT tokens.
How we know
Trial testimony and exhibits in federal court in Manhattan in 2023, and bankruptcy filings documenting the shortfall.
Debates and risks
Whether crypto-specific rules would have stopped it, or whether old fraud laws were enough, is still argued in Congress.
▸Cryptocurrency is the payment rail of Pig-butchering crypto romance scamsFact, law or data
The connection
Crypto suits these scams: transfers are fast, final and global, and victims can buy coins easily at US exchanges and crypto ATMs. Scammers favor dollar-pegged stablecoins, mainly Tether, which hold value while being moved through many wallets and offshore exchanges before cashing out. Unlike a card charge, a crypto transfer cannot be disputed.
When and why
Mainly since 2020, run from compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, using Tether on the Tron network and lightly regulated exchanges.
How we know
Blockchain tracing by firms such as Chainalysis and Elliptic, FBI reports, and freezes of scam-linked stablecoins with Tether's cooperation.
Debates and risks
How much of the flow exchanges could block, and whether stablecoin issuers should freeze funds more aggressively, are open questions.
▸Cryptocurrency is sometimes used for Money laundering: making dirty money look cleanFact, law or data
The connection
Criminals use crypto because it crosses borders in minutes without a bank. They layer funds through mixers, cross-chain bridges and exchanges with weak ID checks, then cash out through brokers or stablecoins. But public blockchains record every transfer, so analytics firms can often trace funds, which has led to major seizures.
When and why
Worldwide since Bitcoin's 2009 launch; the Silk Road drug market, shut in 2013, was an early case. North Korean hackers laundered the record $1.5 billion Bybit theft in 2025.
How we know
Chainalysis estimates illicit addresses received about $41 billion in 2024, under 1% of on-chain volume; cases include Binance's $4.3 billion 2023 settlement and the 2022 Bitfinex seizure.
Debates and risks
Estimates miss unidentified wallets and cash-outs. Enforcement shifted in 2025 as the Justice Department narrowed crypto cases and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was pardoned.
▸Pump-and-dump schemes thrive in CryptocurrencyFact, law or data
The connection
New tokens trade on lightly regulated exchanges with little volume, so small groups can move prices. Organizers announce a coin in Telegram or Discord channels; insiders buy first, members pile in, and insiders sell within minutes. Anonymous creators of 'meme coins' may also dump their own supply, called a rug pull.
When and why
Since about 2017, on offshore exchanges and decentralized platforms; meme-coin launches surged in 2024–25.
How we know
Academic studies have identified thousands of pump events, and in 2024 the DOJ charged crypto 'market makers' caught by an FBI sting using its own token.
Debates and risks
Whether many tokens are securities, and so covered by anti-manipulation rules, is still fought over; the SEC eased its crypto stance in 2025.