ПРОСТІР КРИПТОАКТИВІВ: ЛОГІКА РОЗВИТКУ, СТРУКТУРА, ВЛАСТИВОСТІ ТА ВЗАЄМОДІЇ. Стаття перша. Ідеологія, технології, шлях до розмаїття та типологія криптоактивів

Abstract

The article explores the complexity and diversity of the crypto-asset space, examining the logic of its development, the dynamics of interactions within the ecosystem, and with the external world. It demonstrates how the open-source nature of crypto projects and the emergence of tools for simplified token creation on third-party blockchains have transformed the crypto-asset space into one of unlimited financial asset creation. The structure of the crypto-asset space is represented through a typology of crypto-assets based on technological, functional, and socio-economic characteristics. By studying thirty of the largest crypto-asset projects by market capitalization, several distinct groups that define the construction of crypto-asset space have been identified: bitcoin and ether as the poles of crypto space development; alternative to bitcoin payment cryptoassets; cryptocurrency based back-office solutions for traditional cross-border payments; stablecoins; coins of alternative blockchain platforms with innovative consensus mechanisms and scalability solutions (Layer 1 and Layer 2); crypto-assets of projects for scaling other blockchains and facilitating efficient interoperability between blockchains and the external world; crypto-assets of projects expanding existing successful virtual networks; crypto-assets of centralized cryptocurrency exchanges; DeFi project coins; meme coins; enhanced privacy coins; and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The article reveals the ongoing development of the crypto-asset space in the following directions: solving the blockchain trilemma considering project goals; ensuring interoperability of decentralized networks; creating new forms of collaboration with traditional financial intermediaries and institutions (which often contrasts with the original cypherpunk ideology). It is argued that the space of decentralized interactions, mediated by crypto-assets, has become a domain of extreme volatility, hyper-financialization, and a space where it is difficult to separate technological value from speculative crypto markets. It also highlights the presence of centralized, opaque, and unregulated hyper-intermediaries, with no clear distinction between professional and non-professional participants in the crypto market. Furthermore, this space seeks additional sources of trust from the traditional world, including through sovereign currency-backed stablecoins, partnerships with traditional financial intermediaries, and regulatory lobbying. In the first article, the ideological foundations, basic technologies of the crypto- asset space, bitcoin and ether as the poles of development in this space, and the typology of crypto-assets are examined.