Game theory offers a powerful framework to analyze cryptocurrency projects by modeling strategic interactions among participants like miners, developers, and investors. In a decentralized system, miners compete for rewards (e.g., Bitcoin’s proof-of-work), resembling a Prisoner’s Dilemma where cooperation could optimize energy use, but self-interest drives over-competition. Developers influence governance, as seen in Ethereum’s hard forks, balancing innovation with community consensus—a Nash Equilibrium challenge. Investors, acting rationally, speculate on token value, creating market dynamics akin to a coordination game where trust and adoption are key. Projects like stablecoins use incentive alignment to mitigate volatility, resembling a Stackelberg model where issuers lead and users follow. By analyzing payoff structures, dominant strategies, and potential collusion (e.g., 51% attacks), game theory reveals how design choices impact a cryptocurrency’s security, scalability, and long-term viability.