We provide a research-oriented introduction to the cryptographic currencies. We start with a description of Bitcoin and its main design principles. We then discuss some of its weaknesses, and show some ideas for dealing with them. We also talk about the mechanics of the mining pools and ideas for discouraging the mining pool creation. We provide an introduction to the smart contracts, and give some examples of them, including the multiparty lotteries. We then present alternative currencies that were designed to remedy some of the problems of Bitcoin. In particular, we talk about the Litecoin, the Primecoin, the Permacoin, the Zerocoin, the Proofs of Stake and the Proofs of Space. We also discuss the most important research challenges in this area.
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