During almost two years of the coronavirus crisis, several existing shifts within financial services have accelerated - most crucially, the use of online platforms for carrying out previously in-person transactions, and people going a step further and opening digital 'wallets' to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
The blockchain technology on which the latter is based on is nothing new - the main currency Bitcoin launched in 2009 - but during the various periods of lockdown, many began share trading via easy-to-use mobile apps and dabbling in the increasingly social media-hyped world of 'crypto'.
While valuations have charted a very volatile course, the value of Bitcoin has risen from around $700 in 2016 to more than $56,000 per coin last year.
