THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: CRYPTOCURRENCIES AS A DECENTRALIZED PAYMENT SYSTEM

Crypto-assets – often referred to as cryptocurrencies – are digital or virtual assets that utilize cryptography for secure data transmission and validation. They are created based on blockchain technology and enable peer-to-peer transactions without the need for intermediaries, ensuring fast, secure, and efficient payments. Crypto-assets or cryptocurrencies are not controlled by any single central authority, meaning they are decentralized. Cryptocurrencies typically lack a physical form and operate on blockchain technology within a decentralized (non-reliant on any government or financial institution) environment. Cryptocurrencies have become significant players in the financial technology sector, especially as they began to be viewed as the currency of the future. Blockchain, the fundamental technology underlying cryptocurrencies, provides a distributed and decentralized framework for facilitating the operation of emerging cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin transactions. With the rapid advancement of blockchain technology, these blockchain-based cryptocurrencies have also gained increasing popularity and attention over the past decade. As of the second quarter of 2020, more than 7,000 cryptocurrencies were actively traded, and their total market capitalization exceeded 300 billion US dollars.