Professor Markham brings his expertise on existing banking, securities, and derivatives law to explain why each is ill-suited to optimally regulate the issuance and secondary trading of assets via blockchain technology. In so doing, he lays out a path forward that better balances competing interests in protecting the public and allowing innovation. -- Kevin Haeberle, University of California Irvine School of Law, US Because they dont fit neatly into pre-existing legal paradigms, cryptocurrencies continue to vex lawmakers, financial regulators, dealers, and investors. Luckily, Jerry Markham has a unique blend of deep expertise in banking, commodities, and securities markets and he brings all three to bear in Cryptocurrency Regulation: A Primer. The book fills an important gap because it comprehensively examines the extent to which cryptocurrencies are, for legal purposes, money, securities, commodities, or some other kind of digital claim. As a result, this is the best scholarly resource available about the financial, legal, and regulatory issues raised by cryptocurrencies. By crystalizing these debates, the book also helps to advance a nuanced understanding of these products as they continue to evolve. Though styled as a primer, the book is also an excellent financial history of cryptocurrencies, a treatise on the relevant legal doctrine, and a critical assessment of alternative regulatory approaches for these products, virtues that will make it a classic in the field. -- Jose Gabilondo, Florida International University, US Readers of Markhams primer will be able to confidently enter into the debate about how and why cryptocurrencies should be regulated. Markham leaves no stone unturned in explaining the often paradoxical, contradictory, and enigmatic statutory and regulatory framework that is asked to govern cryptocurrencies. -- Christian Johnson, Widener University Commonwealth Law School, US