Introduction

Cryptocurrencies have the potential to massively upgrade the effectiveness of money worldwide. They can be sent nearly instantly to anyone anywhere in the world, can’t be diluted or devalued by irresponsible governments, and can be programmed to operate inside of financial contracts that rely on code instead of law—each of which is inde- pendently a major improvement over fiat money. Cryptocurrencies have recently been top-of-mind for consumers, investors, and regulators around the world. Why, then, have they not been adopted?

In addition to technical impediments that are on track to being solved, cryptocurren- cies like bitcoin and ether have been highly volatile in market valuation. Their volatility discourages merchants and consumers from using them as a medium of exchange or store of value. Put simply, nobody wants to spend a currency that may be worth twice as much in a month, and nobody wants to store their retirement savings in a currency that may be worth nothing in a year.

Their volatility also prevents them from serving as a standard of deferred payment. Anyone who negotiates rent, wages, or loans in a currency lacking a stable value is unavoidably also speculating on that currency’s future purchasing power. Relying on a volatile currency for such needs introduces unnecessary risk and makes it more difficult to coordinate effectively