Jul 31, 2020 - This research takes a fresh look at the Bitcoin network and its native currency, bitcoin. Its authors argue that, while the Bitcoin protocols have proven successful for financial applications, they have hindered scalability, privacy, and programmability. Because of these implementation challenges, some enterprise leaders have looked to Ethereum and other blockchain solutions. But other development teams have found innovative ways to evolve the Bitcoin network and its enterprise capabilities. By building directly on top of existing Bitcoin infrastructure, businesses can profit from its security and network effects without incurring the costs a...

Sep 28, 2017 - A new phenomenon—initial coin offerings—enabled through blockchain technology is upending basic tenets of twentieth-century capitalism. This project frames the opportunity in terms of addressing the tragedy of the commons. He studies the development and ramification of the emerging token economy and walks through the landscape of token types. He previews the economic effects of digital scarcity, tokens as powerful incentives, and the legal and policy ramifications for securities law and property rights.

Jan 21, 2021 - This research project looks at stablecoins, a new category of digital assets with stable prices in decentralized financial systems. It achieves three goals. First, it examines different ways to stabilize the price of a cryptocurrency. Some are backed by assets with stable value such as US dollars or gold, others are stabilized by algorithms, and some combine those two approaches. Second, it surveys the landscape of stablecoins and analyze the top ten stablecoins by market capitalization. Finally, it suggests ways to use stablecoins for protecting the value of a cryptoasset portfolio.

Sep 30, 2019 - This research explores the disruptive effects of blockchain technologies on central banking and the financial services industry. Its author discusses Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency Libra, and how the other FAANG companies—that is, Amazon.com, Apple, Netflix, and Google—might respond with their own digital tokens. He introduces five transformations—cryptoassets, the tokenization of everything, blockchains as state machines, a new model for identity, and the nine forms of decentralized finance. He examines the challenges that incumbents and innovators face during this transition; and he previews the world of financial services in th...

Nov 13, 2020 - For cryptocurrencies and other blockchain technologies to scale in adoption as the Internet did, people need more human-friendly ways to use them. We believe that the digital wallet is one such way. Digital wallets are pieces of software that hold digital things of value for us, such as money, ID cards, and documents such as receipts. They enable us to make payments, prove our identities, record and verify our actions and transactions, and aggregrate and manage our cryptoassets such bitcoin, ether, or derivatives of cryptocurrencies. Eventually, we expect them to capture and protect our Internet browsing, online shopping, and other streams of...

Oct 31, 2019 - This is the second half of Trust(less): How Blockchain Will Help Us Navigate the Post-Trust World. It explores the broken promises of prominent players in the first ten years of blockchain technology and examines their behavior in terms of their benevolence, competence, and integrity. It also addresses the negative associations that orbit blockchain in the mind of the average, semi-informed observer and outlines a four-step process for rebuilding trust in the blockchain ecosystem.