Economic, technological and social drivers of cryptocurrency market evolution and its managerial impact

Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, have caused intense discussions during recent years among market participants according to new options (such as payment or financing alternatives) and new risks (such as price volatility) involved. Despite being considered by various actors of private households, companies, financial, monetary, and political institutions, a theory-based understanding of this innovation and knowledge of their evolution is still limited. On a basic level, this holds for differences between cryptocurrencies on the one hand and traditional currencies, like paper money, gold or special assets, on the other. On a market level, factors driving the prices of cryptocurrencies appear to be of seminal meaning, in particular against the backdrop of recent market turmoil. Therefore, the paper conducts an empirical analysis of the five biggest cryptocurrencies (measured by market capitalization) with regard to their evolutionary development, price behaviour, and their impact for managers