Cryptocurrencies’ supply and value are controlled by the activities of their users and highly complex protocols built into their governing codes, not the conscious decisions of central banks or other regulatory authorities.
In particular, the activities of miners — cryptocurrency users who leverage vast amounts of computing power to record transactions, receiving newly created cryptocurrency units and transaction fees paid by other users in return — are critical to currencies’ stability and smooth function.

Of course, crypto is notoriously volatile. The last time Bitcoin reached these levels, it fell back several thousand dollars, and it’s undergone multiple corrections that take it down by half or more. Other coins are even more volatile – the memecoins bounce back and forth wildly at times – and scams and hacks occur with some frequency.
Yet tales of meme-coin holders becoming millionaires have attracted new waves of retail investors to crypto — along with a growing number of nefarious players. In May, the Federal Trade Commission tallied a record number of crypto investment scams, with Americans’ losses totalling around US$80 million since October.