Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are the logical "next step" for money and are close to becoming a mainstream form of payment, showed a new study.

Researchers from Imperial College London and the trading platform eToro assessed the roles of traditional currency and measured how close cryptocurrency had come to fulfilling these.
They list the three criteria as being able to act as a store of value, a medium of exchange and a unit of account. Cryptocurrencies already serve one of those roles. In order to fulfill the other two criteria, the team said cryptocurrencies will need to overcome tackle scalability and regulation.
"The world of cryptocurrency is evolving as rapidly as the collection of confusing terminology that accompanies it. These decentralised technologies have the potential to upend everything we thought we knew about financial systems and financial assets," said Professor William Knottenbelt from Imperial.