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ARTICLE · 27 DECEMBER 2017

Cybersecurity 2018 – The Year In Preview: Cryptocurrencies And Blockchain

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This is the last in a nine-part end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the coming year.

United StatesTechnology
Foley Hoag LLP
Foley Hoag LLP
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Editors' Note: This is the last in a nine-part end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the coming year. Previous installments include analyses of HIPAA compliance, emerging security threats, federal enforcement trends, state enforcement trends, biometrics, education, international law and cyberwar, and financial institutions and the SEC.

Bitcoin is white-hot. The cryptocurrency's price has increased an astounding 2000% in 2017 alone. The app for Coinbase, the most popular cryptocurrency exchange, held the #1 spot on Apple's app store, unseating the likes of Facebook and Instragram. Earlier this month the Chicago Exchange began offering trades in bitcoin futures, the first major exchange to do so (and futures contracts were up some 560% after one day of trading).

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