14

Blockchain Technology

2.1  INTRODUCTION

Human beings have developed by renewing themselves throughout history with the

effort to meet their unlimited needs with limited resources. With the motivation

created by the goal of maximum benefit and satisfaction, technology has developed

rapidly and entered every field of life. At this time, blockchain technology and cryp­

tocurrencies, which have entered the public agenda in recent years, have come to

the fore as a powerful innovation and development and are being widely discussed

in studies. Blockchain is a technology designed primarily for the safe and secure

storage and management of valuable data. This technology is essentially a technical

plan of a reliable data storage base that is stored in a decentralized and secure way

and does not allow data to be deleted, lost or changed. Cryptocurrencies, on the other

hand, are currencies and payment systems that use blockchain technology infrastruc­

ture without being connected to any centre. There are thousands of cryptocurrencies,

the first to emerge and the best known being Bitcoin. Although efforts to combine

the digital world and money go back to the 1980s, the subject gained general aware­

ness with the emergence of Bitcoin at the end of 2008. With the widespread use

brought by awareness and the increase in usage areas, it has come onto the agenda of

the economic, social and political world and has been widely discussed.

The aim of this study is to examine cryptocurrencies that use blockchain technol­

ogy, to reveal the current situation and to discuss its future. In the study, in order to

enable readers and researchers who are not involved in the technical world to under­

stand the nature of the subject, the technical definitions and analyses of technology

are handled as superficially as possible, and a perspective more suitable for social

scientists is used. Technical details are left to other chapters of this book and other

studies in this field. The study is structured in ten different sections. After this short

introduction, blockchain technology is discussed in the second section, and general

information about its definition, features and structure is given. In the third sec­

tion, the subject of crypto money is discussed, including definitions and history. The

fourth section discusses whether or not cryptocurrencies are really money in view of

the basic features and functions of money. In the fifth section, factors determining

the value of cryptocurrencies are discussed. In the sixth section, the legal situation

around the world is evaluated with some country examples. In the seventh section,

the advantages and disadvantages of cryptocurrencies are discussed. In the eighth

section, the current and potential uses of cryptocurrencies are discussed with vari­

ous examples. In the ninth section, up-to-date data on the cryptocurrency market is

shared. The tenth section is the conclusion. This section presents a general overview

and evaluation considering the purpose of the study and makes some suggestions.

2.2  BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

Blockchain technology is characterized as a promising technology within the frame­

work of what it has revealed and promised, and it is predicted to play a critical

role in the economic, social, political and military fields. This technology is a sys­

tem designed to safely and securely store and manage valuable data such as money,