**2. Background on Bitcoin**

Bitcoin is a unique digital currency with the potential to change the nature of the transactions that people conduct in digital space. Bitcoin enables consumers for the first time to make electronic transactions from person to person without the need for an intermediary between them, like cash (Brito 2014). Transactions conducted in the digital space with BTC allow individuals to push payments directly to the merchants without having to share personally identifiable information, which could be intercepted by cybercriminals for fraud. One of the greatest concerns for BTC as a commonly accepted currency is the security, as there is no intermediary to ensure the coverage on stolen BTC, should theft occur (Brito 2014). As the value of the asset appreciated 63% YTD in 2016, and 87% YTD in 2020, identifying historical patterns of behavior could help in understanding how the BTC security (and the security of similar cryptocurrencies) is likely to behave from inception.
