Abstract :Cryptocurrency, an encrypted, peer-to-peer network for facilitating digital barter, is a technology developed eight years ago. Bitcoin, the first and most popular cryptocurrency, is paving the way as a disruptive technology to long standing and unchanged financial payment systems that have been in place for many decades. While cryptocurrencies are not likely to replace traditional fiat currency, they could change the way Internet-connected global markets interact with each other, clearing  away  barriers  surrounding  normative  national  currencies  and  exchange  rates. Technology advances at a rapid  rate, and  the  success of  a given  technology is almost  solely dictated by the market upon which it seeks to improve. Cryptocurrencies may revolutionize digital trade markets by creating a free flowing trading system without fees. A SWOT analysis of Bitcoin is presented, which  illuminates some of  the recent events and  movements that could  influence whether Bitcoin contributes to a shift in economic paradigms.  Key Words:  Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Encrypted, Currency, Bitpay, Exchange Rates  Table of contents  Chapter 1 Introduction ------------------------- 1-2 Chapter 2 Literature view ---------------------- 3-4 Chapter 3 Research methodology --------- 5-7 Chapter 4 Analysis a discussion ------------ 8-11 Chapter 5 Summary and conclusion -------12-15   1. Introduction  Bitcoin, the  world?s most common and well known cryptocurrency, has been increasing in popularity. It has the same basic structure as it did when created in 2008, but repeat instances of the world market changing has created a new demand for cryptocurrencies much greater than its initial showing. By using a cryptocurrency, users are able to  exchange value digitally without third party oversight. Cryptocurrency works on  the theory of  solving encryption algorithms to create unique hashes that are finite in number. Combined with a network of computers verifying transactions, users are able  to exchange  hashes as if exchanging physical currency. There  is a finite number of bitcoin that will ever be generated, preventing an overabundance and ensuring its rarity. Water, despite its requirement as a  life giving  material,  is generally accepted as being free or  of little  cost because  it is  so abundant. If water was rare, it would be more valuable than diamonds. Value exists for bitcoin because its users have trust that if they accept it as payment, they would could use it elsewhere to purchase something they want or need (Kelly, 2014). As long as the users maintain this faith, the valued object can be anything. Bitcoin?s value exists in its ecosystem much in the same way that wampum, a seashell, was the currency of the land for Native Americans (Kelly, 2014). Bitcoin does not have intrinsic value like gold in that it cannot be used to make physical objects like jewelry that have value. Nevertheless, value continues to exist due to trust and acceptance.  Current legal and financial structures are not designed with a technology like this in mind. Financial institutions are built off of much older forms of currency. In some ways, it is comparative to the computing industry. The baseline of computing still relies on transmitting and processing 1?s and 0?s, providing only  two  dimensions  of input. Yet all of our current technology uses this technologically archaic system due to adoption, cultivation, and lack  of need  for  newer systems.  If  cryptocurrencies  became the  global  norm for  transactions, long standing systems for trade would need to be completely reformed to deal with this type of competition. For this reason, cryptocurrencies  could  possibly  be  the  single  most  disruptive  technology  to  global  financial  and  economic systems.  BitPay, the largest bitcoin processor in the world, has recently seen transaction rate grow 110% in the past 12 months (Team, 2016).                                                                                  Transaction increase is an indicator of user acceptance growing. The conditions for Bitcoin?s widespread adoption could  be  described  as  a  “fire triangle”.  Where  fire  needs fuel,  oxygen,  and  heat to  exist; Bitcoin needs user acceptance, vendor acceptance, and innovation to ignite. Without all three aspects, bitcoin may not truly become a legitimized mainstream currency. Bitcoin is currently experiencing an increase in user acceptance and use, which is driving the other two aspects of the “fire triangle”. Cryptocurrency?s adoption will be an important subject to watch in the future, as it  could be  a truly transformative technology that  alters the  way money is  exchanged worldwide. Bitcoin?s  increased adoption  has been integrally tied to  global market shifts.  The current Internet-fueled global market is very much entangled. If one regional market begins to plummet, it can easily drag the others with it. Bitcoin, like the Euro, can freely move across many national borders, creating an environment that promotes global trade, mutual prosperity, and even peace.