Understanding Cryptocurrency And Distributed Ledger Technology In The Albanian Legal Context

Bitcoin, blockchain, cryptocurrency burst onto the world stage in 2008, when the online posting of a pseudonymous white paper envisioned a new way to transfer value over the internet. In the decade-plus since, the cryptoasset market has gone through all the classic phases of a disruptive technology: massive bull markets and crushing pullbacks, periods of euphoria and moments of despair, fear, and everything in between. As the crypto market enters its second decade, it is being increasingly used even in Albania.

Today, Albania is one of the few countries that has a dedicated a law for regulating cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Despite all the excitement, however, few people even understand what crypto really is or why it might matter. Is it an alternative currency? A technology? A venture capital investment? A specious bubble?