Cryptocurrency 101
Know the risks before getting involved in digital assets.
Strategic Resource Management Senior Vice President Larry Pruss
While cryptocurrency has existed for more than a decade, there’s still room for credit unions to be involved in these digital assets, which now exceed $2 trillion in value, says Larry Pruss, senior vice president at Strategic Resource Management.
The first step toward getting involved in cryptocurrency is making sure the board and senior management know what it is and are aware of the risks involved, Pruss told attendees of a CUNA Council virtual roundtable, “Building Cryptocurrency Knowledge Together.”
Cryptocurrency, he explains, is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange or store value. It exists on a decentralized digital ledger known as blockchains, “similar to what the internet is for emails or what railways are to trains. Blockchains are the rails and trains are the crypto.”
The value of cryptocurrencies reached roughly $3 trillion at one point in 2021. Pruss says the number of cryptocurrency wallets rose from 50 million to 70 million in the past year.
continue reading »