The Nexus between Cryptocurrencies, Currencies and Commodities: A Primer

Abstract

This primer provides a pairwise comparison of cryptocurrency characteristics with those of fiat currency and hard commodities to shed light on the nexus between cryptocurrencies, fiat currency, and hard commodities. Then, it synthesizes methods and results from empirical research that investigate the nexus. The findings reveal that the existing literature has not reached a consensus on the nature of cryptocurrencies, in particular whether they should be categorized as a currency or a commodity which indicates the research area is not yet saturated.