The rapid advancement in encryption and network computing gave birth to new tools and products that have influenced the local and global economy alike. One recent and notable example is the emergence of virtual currencies, also known as cryptocurrencies or digital currencies. Virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, introduced a fundamental transformation that affected the way goods, services, and assets are exchanged. Virtual currencies are experiencing an increasing popularity in the financial markets and in portfolio management as can be classified as financial asset or commodities on a scale from pure medium of exchange advantages to pure store of value advantages. As a result of its distributed ledgers based on blockchain, cryptocurrencies offer some unique advantages to the economy, investors, and consumers, but also pose considerable risks to users and challenges for regulators when fitting the new technology into the old legal framework. Bitcoin for example may be useful in risk management and ideal for risk-averse investors in anticipation of negative shocks to the market. The core objective of this proposed book is to provide a comprehensive discussion on the important issues related to cryptocurrencies ranging from pricing, financial, legal to technological aspects.

This book describes how the rapid advancement in encryption and network computing gave birth to new tools and products that have influenced the local and global economy alike. One recent and notable example is the emergence of virtual currencies (such as Bitcoin) also known as cryptocurrencies. Virtual currencies introduced a fundamental transformation that affected the way goods, services and assets are exchanged. As a result of its distributed ledgers based on blockchain, cryptocurrencies not only offer some unique advantages to the economy, investors, and consumers, but also pose considerable risks to users and challenges for regulators when fitting the new technology into the old legal framework. The core of this proposed book is to present and discuss the evidence on financial asset capabilities of virtual currencies. The contributors of this volume analyze several interesting and timely issues such as the particularities of virtual currencies and their statistical characteristics; the diversification benefits of virtual currencies; the behavior and dependence structure between virtual currencies and the financial markets; the economic implications of virtual currencies, their effects, their price risk, and contagion spillovers in a unified and comprehensive framework; the future of virtual currencies and their distributed ledgers technology.

After each major corporate scandal, new suggestions for combatting fraud emerge from regulators and industry professionals. Despite changes to guidelines for firms' corporate governance, augmented protection for whistle blowers, and enhanced cybersecurity measures, evidence documents an alarming increase in the prevalence and severity of corporate fraud. The rapidly changing laws aimed at curbing corporate fraud sometimes lag behind the changing sophistication of fraud schemes. Corporate Fraud Exposed discusses the motivations and drivers of fraud including agency theory, executive compensation, and organizational culture. It examines fraud's consequences for various firm stakeholders and its spillover effects to other corporations, the political environment, and financial market participants, including those who participate via crowdfunding platforms. This book provides a fresh look at this intriguing but often complex subject. It skillfully blends the contributions of a global array of scholars and practitioners into a single review of some of the most important topics in this area. Given its broad scope, this practical and comprehensive title should be of interest to anyone curious about corporate fraud.

This book describes how the rapid advancement in encryption and network computing gave birth to new tools and products that have influenced the local and global economy alike. One recent and notable example is the emergence of virtual currencies (such as Bitcoin) also known as cryptocurrencies. Virtual currencies introduced a fundamental transformation that affected the way goods, services and assets are exchanged. As a result of its distributed ledgers based on blockchain, cryptocurrencies not only offer some unique advantages to the economy, investors, and consumers, but also pose considerable risks to users and challenges for regulators when fitting the new technology into the old legal framework. The core of this proposed book is to present and discuss the evidence on financial asset capabilities of virtual currencies. The contributors of this volume analyze several interesting and timely issues such as the particularities of virtual currencies and their statistical characteristics; the diversification benefits of virtual currencies; the behavior and dependence structure between virtual currencies and the financial markets; the economic implications of virtual currencies, their effects, their price risk, and contagion spillovers in a unified and comprehensive framework; the future of virtual currencies and their distributed ledgers technology.

After each major corporate scandal, new suggestions for combatting fraud emerge from regulators and industry professionals. Despite changes to guidelines for firms' corporate governance, augmented protection for whistle blowers, and enhanced cybersecurity measures, evidence documents an alarming increase in the prevalence and severity of corporate fraud. The rapidly changing laws aimed at curbing corporate fraud sometimes lag behind the changing sophistication of fraud schemes. Corporate Fraud Exposed discusses the motivations and drivers of fraud including agency theory, executive compensation, and organizational culture. It examines fraud's consequences for various firm stakeholders and its spillover effects to other corporations, the political environment, and financial market participants, including those who participate via crowdfunding platforms. This book provides a fresh look at this intriguing but often complex subject. It skillfully blends the contributions of a global array of scholars and practitioners into a single review of some of the most important topics in this area. Given its broad scope, this practical and comprehensive title should be of interest to anyone curious about corporate fraud.