CRYPTOASSETS The Guide to Bitcoin, Blockchain, and Cryptocurrency for Investment Professionals

Bitcoin, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies burst onto the world stage in 2008, when the online posting of a pseudonymous white paper envi- sioned a new way to transfer value over the internet.1

In the decade-plus since, the cryptoasset mar- ket has gone through all the classic phases of a disruptive technology: massive bull markets and crushing pullbacks, periods of euphoria and moments of despair, FOMO (fear of missing out), fear, and everything in between.

As the cryptomarket enters its second decade, one thing is clear: Crypto and blockchains are not going away. Today, cryptoassets boast a combined market cap in excess of $350 billion;2 major financial institutions, such as Fidelity Investments and CME Group, are heavily involved; large endowments, such as those of Harvard University, Yale University, and Stanford University, are investing, alongside such hedge fund legends as Paul Tudor Jones II; the crypto efforts of leading companies, such as Facebook, PayPal, Visa, and Square, are front- page news; and central banks, from the US Federal Reserve to the People’s Bank of China, are discussing how to develop blockchain- enabled digital currencies of their own.