With the development of new technologies, some concepts become relevant in the economic area, as is the case with cryptocurrencies, in general, or Bitcoin and Ethereum, in particular. Due to the impact of these tools, a detailed bibliometric study that allows us to obtain all information about cryptocurrencies must be conducted. This study will help scientific production by specifying the development and lines of related research that have been followed and are currently being followed. We have used Tableau, R (Bibliometrix R Package), and VOSviewer software to analyze the information. These have been combined to create and review unified metadata from the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases. The bibliometric analysis shows 771 articles on the WoS database and 648 articles on Scopus published between 2010 and early 2019. They present the most relevant articles, research areas, countries, institutions, authors, journals, and trends during the last few years. In conclusion, the number of publications has grown in the last 3 years. The analysis shows the evolution of blockchain technology used in this type of cryptocurrency. The review of this period marks a possible end to the historical part of cryptocurrencies, thereby opening the current topic to its multiple applications.

In recent years, the concept of the circular economy has been gaining relevance and its importance has grown both in academia and in rural municipalities in general. The rural development policy of the European Union, in addition to prioritizing the diversification of the productive activities of municipalities, encourages the adoption of the circular economy. The aim of this article is to show and publicize the applications relating to the circular economy that are being carried out in a rural mountain municipality with a small population focused on agriculture, and which are setting an example for others that are suffering the endemic problem of depopulation. A diagnosis is carried out taking into consideration local sustainable development methodologies. In relation to the results, the positive impact of these practices with a rural development approach based on awareness and education regarding the basic 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) is highlighted. Almócita is an example that can be extrapolated to many mountain municipalities at national and international levels.

Complementary currencies are a reality and are being applied both globally and locally. The aim of this article is to explain the viability of this type of currency and its application in local development, in this case, in a rural mountain municipality in the province of Almería (Spain) called Almócita. The Plus, Minus, Interesting (PMI); “Flying Balloon”; and Strength, Weakness, Opportunity (SWOT) analysis methodologies will be used to carry out the study. Finally, a ranking of success factors will be carried out with a brainstorming exercise. As to the results, there are, a priori, more advantages than disadvantages of implementing these currencies, but the local population has clarified that their main concern is depopulation along with a lack of varied work. As a counterpart to this and strengths or advantages, almost all the participants mention the support from the Almócita city council and the initiatives that are constantly being promoted.

Este artículo presenta el estado actual y las características del comercio electrónico, su relevancia y oportunidad para industrias situadas en una zona rural como es Shanxi. Se utiliza el método de búsqueda de referencias, tales como consultas de documentos y de información de internet. Además, mediante el uso de la metodología de marco lógico, se han analizado los problemas en el desarrollo del comercio electrónico en el medio rural de Shanxi y se han presentado soluciones. Por tanto, los resultados principales indican que el desarrollo de comercio electrónico en el medio rural tiene una gran importancia estratégica y que promover el desarrollo económico de Shanxi mediante el fomento del comercio electrónico rural se ha convertido en una sabia elección. No obstante, es necesario continuar una investigación en profundidad. El comercio electrónico del futuro enfrenta grandes oportunidades de desarrollo en las áreas rurales.

Para la supervivencia y el desarrollo local y empresarial se han creado figuras como los clústeres, los cuales permiten en una misma área geográfica compartir recursos y conocimientos, así como colaborar con el propósito de mejorar la competitividad y el desarrollo económico de la región. En este caso se ha realizado un análisis municipal de Lubrín para conocer las fortalezas y debilidades del municipio, identificar oportunidades y amenazas, y diseñar estrategias con miras al desarrollo local. Se utilizó la metodología ETPO para analizar el contexto actual y se comprobó que no hay un clúster de empresas caprinas, pero sí una figura afín. Este sistema se vería liderado por el Ayuntamiento y contaría con varias empresas que colaborarían en la distribución de productos bajo una marca común. Se recomienda por tanto fortalecer esta colaboración y estudiar otras acciones dirigidas a promover el consumo de productos locales y atraer visitantes al municipio.