Prospects of using cryptocurrencies in modern economic systems

Abstract

Introduction. In the period of crisis aggravation in the economy of Ukraine, a household and economic entity, as a rule, avoid saving financial resources. They prefer to invest their capital in foreign currency, valuable things, real estate and gold. The choice of the investment object is often determined by the level of fluctuations of its value depending on the political situation in the state, extent of intervention of the third parties in the process of ownership and disposal of the object, legal security and so on. Lately more and more individuals note the desired criteria in relatively new instrument of the financial market - cryptocurrency.Purpose. The purpose of the article is the determination of modern features of cryptocurrency functioning in the world and assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of their use.Results. The essence of the cryptocurrency determines its main advantages: the confidentiality and data security of owners; independence from the state; the lack of territorial and time restrictions in transactions; the low cost of service, etc. As a result, the cryptocurrency is gaining the increasing popularity among the population, the infrastructure of its sale via terminals is forming (there were already about 5000 ones in 2018), futures contracts for Bitcoins are being put into practice, the network of commercial and production structures is expanding. It gives wide opportunities for cryptocurrency payment.Conclusion. The cryptocurrency becomes more and more important part of society and work technology all over the world. The number of people who use cryptocurrency increased and is approaching the population of a small country – from 2.9 to 5.8 million people. The majority are inhabitants of North America and Europe. For the effective functioning of cryptocurrencies their institutionalization is necessary. It can be done in two ways: first, it is a legal institutionalization, and secondly it is the market institutionalization, which is carried out through the establishment of formal and informal rules for cryptocurrency functioning.