剑桥-2017年全球数字加密货币基准研究（英文）-114页-8mb

Global Cryptocurrency Benchmarking Study (2017) Summary

Core Content

This study, conducted by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance in 2017, is the first comprehensive benchmarking research on the global cryptocurrency industry. It systematically investigates the key sectors of the industry—exchanges, wallets, payments, and mining—by collecting empirical, non-public data from nearly 150 companies and individuals across 38 countries.

Main Findings

User Adoption

• The estimated number of unique active users of cryptocurrency wallets ranges between 2.9 million and 5.8 million.
• The number of people using cryptocurrency today rivals that of small countries.
• Over 1,876 individuals are working full-time in the cryptocurrency industry, with the actual number likely higher when including large mining operations and other unreported entities.

Industry Structure

• The cryptocurrency industry is globalised and localised, with borderless exchange operations and geographically clustered mining activities.
• The lines between different industry sectors are blurring, with 31% of surveyed companies operating across two or more sectors.
• Universal cryptocurrency companies are becoming more common, integrating multiple functions such as exchanges, wallets, and payments.

Security and Compliance

• Security headcount and costs are significant, especially for wallets, where they account for 13% of total employees and 17% of budget.
• Security remains a critical concern across the industry, with a growing emphasis on regulatory compliance.

Cryptocurrency Overview

• Bitcoin remains the dominant cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalisation, holding 72% of the total market as of March 2017.
• Other cryptocurrencies, particularly Ethereum (ETH), DASH, and Monero (XMR), are gaining traction and market share.
• The total market capitalisation of all cryptocurrencies increased more than threefold since early 2016, reaching $27 billion in April 2017.

Key Sectors

Exchanges

• The exchanges sector has the highest number of operating entities and employs the most people.
• 52% of small exchanges hold a formal government license, compared to 35% of large exchanges.
• Security is a major focus, with 13% of total employees dedicated to it and 17% of operating budget allocated to security.

Wallets

• Between 5.8 million and 11.5 million wallets are estimated to be currently active.
• 52% of surveyed wallets offer an integrated currency exchange feature, with 80% providing national-to-cryptocurrency exchange services.
• Unlike exchanges, wallets typically do not control user keys, meaning they do not have access to users’ funds.
• Large wallets are incorporated entities with more than 10 full-time employees.

Payments

• 79% of payment companies have existing relationships with banking institutions and payment networks.
• The biggest challenge is maintaining these relationships due to regulatory and operational complexities.
• National-to-cryptocurrency payments make up two-thirds of total transaction volume, while national-to-national and cryptocurrency-to-cryptocurrency payments account for 27% and 6%, respectively.

Mining

• 70% of large miners rate their influence on protocol development as high or very high, compared to 51% of small miners.
• Mining facilities are geographically dispersed, but a significant concentration exists in Chinese provinces.
• The mining value chain includes hardware manufacturing, self-mining, cloud mining, remote hosting, and mining pools.

Methodology

• The study involved four online surveys conducted between September 2016 and January 2017.
• Surveys were distributed in English and Chinese, with the latter supported by 8btc.com.
• Data was collected from 38 countries and five world regions, and 144 cryptocurrency organisations and individual miners participated.
• All data was anonymised and aggregated by sector, activity type, organisation size, region, and country.
• The study captured more than 75% of the cryptocurrency industry sectors covered in the report.

Key Definitions

Geography

• Asia-Pacific: Includes East Asia, South Asia, South-East Asia, and Oceania.
• Africa and Middle East: Covers the African continent and the Middle East.
• Europe: Encompasses Western, Southern, and Eastern Europe, including Russia.
• Latin America: Includes South and Central America, such as Mexico.
• North America: Includes Canada and the United States.

Exchanges

• Order-book exchange: Matches buy and sell orders using a trading engine.
• Brokerage service: Allows users to acquire or sell cryptocurrencies at a given price.
• Trading platform: Offers a single interface for connecting to multiple exchanges or provides leveraged trading and derivatives.
• Custodial exchange: Takes custody of users' funds.

Wallets

• Incorporated wallet: A registered corporation providing software or hardware wallets.
• Custodial wallet: Controls user private keys and holds users' funds.
• Self-hosted wallet: Allows users to control their private keys and funds.
• Wallets with integrated currency exchange: Use one of three models: centralised, third-party, or P2P.

Payments

• National currency-focused: Uses cryptocurrency as a payment rail for fast, cost-efficient national currency transactions.
• B2B payment services: Facilitates business-to-business payments, often cross-border.
• Money transfer services: Primarily handles international money transfers for individuals.
• Cryptocurrency-focused: Payments are typically denominated in cryptocurrency.
• Merchant services: Process payments for merchants and offer additional services like shopping cart integrations.
• General-purpose platform: Offers a variety of transfer services, including instant payments, payroll, and bill payment.

Mining

• Mining value chain: Includes hardware manufacturing, self-mining, cloud mining, remote hosting, and mining pools.
• Small miners: Registered companies with limited scale or sole proprietors.
• Large miners: Engage in medium-to-large scale operations and hold significant industry influence.

Innovation in Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin was the first decentralised cryptocurrency, launched in 2009, with Namecoin emerging in 2011.
• There are hundreds of active cryptocurrencies with market value and thousands that have existed at some point.
• Most are clones of Bitcoin with different parameters (e.g., block time, supply, issuance scheme), often referred to as altcoins.
• A growing number of innovative cryptocurrencies are emerging, offering new features like proof-of-stake, smart contracts, and decentralised computing platforms.
• These can be categorised into:
  • New public blockchain systems (e.g., Ethereum, Peercoin, Zcash).
  • dApps/Other built on existing blockchain systems (e.g., Counterparty, Augur).

Market Trends

• Bitcoin's market share has decreased from 86% in 2015 to 72% in 2017, while Ethereum has become the second-largest cryptocurrency.
• DASH and Monero have seen significant price growth since June 2016, with Monero’s price beginning to rise in the summer of 2016 and DASH’s increasing exponentially after December 2016.
• Ethereum's price has also recovered after a series of attacks, including the DAO hack in June 2016, rising 8x since its 2016 low of less than $7.
• All listed cryptocurrencies have experienced price increases during the study period.

Conclusion

The study highlights the rapid growth and maturation of the global cryptocurrency industry. While Bitcoin remains the dominant player, other cryptocurrencies are gaining momentum in terms of usage, innovation, and market share. The industry is becoming more interconnected, with blurring boundaries between sectors. The research provides valuable insights for policymakers, investors, and academics, offering a comprehensive view of the current state and future potential of cryptocurrencies.