Chasing the Wind? A Case for Competitive Popularity as an Approach to Regulating Cryptocurrencies

Abstract

Technology is a gift that keeps on giving and the advent of cryptocurrencies is no exception. Like its predecessors in technological innovation, it has elicited a globally mixed reaction. It has exposed cracks in our financial system, fixed them and created new ones. In a paradoxical twist of bewilderment and fascination, it has simultaneously enticed and repulsed regulators worldwide in varying degrees. This paper envisions a practical solution for the efficient regulation of cryptocurrencies that lies not only in the law but in an economically justifiable approach which involves the participation in the mining of cryptocurrencies by governments on a sufficiently international scale.