Practical Applications Summary Cryptocurrencies’ attempts to replace the operations of traditional financial institutions has led to several fundamental questions about their plausibility, both as a type of money and as a payment system. In Useful Money and Cryptocurrencies, from the 2019 Cryptocurrency Special Issue of the Journal of Investing, authors Jon Nicolaisen and Peder Ostbye (both of Norges Bank in Oslo, Norway) address whether cryptocurrencies can truly function as useful money; whether they can improve payment systems; what their risks are; and what regulation they may face.