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. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency