The Geography of Mining

Cryptocurrency has gone through several iterations since its inception. Where is it headed in the next decade? How does crypto affect the average person? Scott Condie, Financial Economist and Associate Professor at Brigham Young University, talks through the future of cryptocurrency and its role in our modern economy. With so many changes happening so rapidly, the next era for cryptocurrency is exciting, uncharted territory.

Cryptocurrency has a reputation for being the go-to financial workaround for illegal activity. Although there has been fraudulent behavior since its inception, there is a significant drop in the amount of criminality involved, thanks to regulation.

Paper money has been on a steady decline for years. With so many alternative payment methods becoming available—credit cards, mobile phones, wearables—cash will become decreasingly important in modern economies.

Our financial ecosystem is highly dependent on centuries-old trust networks. Can decentralization replace this complex framework we’ve built? With the massive computational power required to run these third-party systems, is cryptocurrency overkill?

How does cryptocurrency actually work? Does the general ledger ensure financial legitimacy? Let’s break down this seemingly complex phenomenon into layman’s terms with a simple example transaction.