  We propose a novel framework to analyse the velocity of money in terms of the
contribution (MicroVelocity) of each individual agent, and to uncover the
distributional determinants of aggregate velocity. Leveraging on complete
publicly available transactions data stored in blockchains from four
cryptocurrencies, we empirically find that MicroVelocity i) is very
heterogeneously distributed and ii) strongly correlates with agents' wealth. We
further document the emergence of high-velocity intermediaries, thereby
challenging the idea that these systems are fully decentralised. Further, our
framework and results provide policy insights for the development and analysis
of digital currencies.
