Global and Cryptocurrency Benchmarking Study 2017
* Report: GLOBAL CRYPTOCURRENCY BENCHMARKING STUDY. Dr Garrick Hileman & Michel Rauchs. Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, 2017
Description
Brian Zhang:
"This Global Cryptocurrency Benchmarking Study is our inaugural research focused on alternative payment systems and digital assets. Led by Dr Garrick Hileman, it is the first study of its kind to holistically examine the burgeoning global cryptocurrency industry and its key constituents, which include exchanges, wallets, payments and mining.
The findings are both striking and thought-provoking.
First, the user adoption of various cryptocurrencies has really taken of, with billions in market cap and millions of wallets estmated to have been ‘actve’ in 2016.
Second, the cryptocurrency industry is both globalised and localised, with borderless exchange operations, as well as geographically clustered mining actvites.
Third, the industry is becoming more fluid, as the lines between exchanges and wallets are increasingly ‘blurred’ and a multitude of cryptocurrencies, not just bitcoin, are now supported by a growing ecosystem, fulfilling an array of functons.
Fourth, issues of security and regulatory compliance are likely to remain prevalent for years to come. "
Excerpts
"KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE STUDY
• The current number of unique actve users of cryptocurrency wallets is estmated to be between 2.9 million and 5.8 million.
• The lines between the different cryptocurrency industry sectors are increasingly blurred: 31% of cryptocurrency companies surveyed are operatng across two cryptocurrency industry sectors or more, giving rise to an increasing number of universal cryptocurrency companies.
• At least 1,876 people are working full-tme in the cryptocurrency industry, and the actual total figure is likely well above two thousend when large mining organisatons and other organizatons that did not provide headcount figures are added. • Average security headcount and costs for payment companies and exchanges as a percentage of total headcount/operatng expenses are similar, but signifcantly higher for wallets."