Jun 24, 2022 - This research brief summarizes the findings of a substantial research project funded by Input Output (IO) and focused on discovering new approaches to the governance of resources in blockchain ecosystems. The team was substantial, with two dozen researchers from IO, the Boston Consulting Group, and the Blockchain Research Institute. The process was iterative, with write-ups, peer reviews, and discussions of research results and feedback. Based on its findings, the research team proposed a new form of stewardship, called the decentralized resource governance (DRG) model. It is a means of governing initiatives to deploy resources, shap...

Apr 30, 2018 - This research surveys the global landscape of regulatory frameworks, statements, and decisions, on blockchain-based token sales in the jurisdictions of the United States, Canada, Singapore, China, France, Germany, Italy, Estonia, Switzerland, and Gibraltar, with commentary on Malaysia, South Korea, Israel, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates. Its expert authors look at initial coin offerings and compare how different regulators are categorizing token sales in their attempts to balance the protection of investors with the stimulus of innovat...

Feb 09, 2021 - This research project surveys what federal governments can do to exploit the next era of technology across their operations, within their economies and society, and with their allies and global partners. It focuses on the threats and opportunities facing the United States—including China’s increasing dominance in global supply chains and strategic innovation. It also speaks to challenges the new administration faces, and recommends five areas for immediate action: securing digital systems, citizen identities, and personal data; embracing cryptocurrencies and launching a digital dollar; transforming government services and culture; engagin...

Aug 17, 2022 - Central banks, rev up your digital currency engines! The race to global adoption is on, and this case study of China’s e-yuan captures the first mover in action. Co-led by PhDs—one a fintech advisor, strategy consultant, and researcher based in Hong Kong/Singapore, and the other a professor at the Schulich School of Business in Toronto—the case digs into the Chinese government’s approach to the research, development, and roll out of its digital yuan. The authors analyze China’s digital currency electronic payment in terms of the government’s joint venture with SWIFT, its Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and the Belt an...

Feb 18, 2020 - This research describes many industry consortia within the blockchain enterprise space and describes the goals of three in particular—Blockchain Insurance Industry Initiative, Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, and Hyperledger, hosted by the Linux Foundation. The project involved interviews with twenty-five executives and thought leaders who are innovatively deploying blockchain technology in industries ranging from artificial intelligence to healthcare. It lays out the business case for joining blockchain consortia including developing standards for technologies and building trust and confidence in new technology solutions. It distills the best...

May 10, 2018 - In this research project, Joel Telpner gives us a guided tour of regulatory risk. Pulling lessons from regulating innovation in telecommunications and the financial markets, he focuses on the extent to which the blockchain represents unprecedented regulatory challenges. He advocates a level-headed approach to determining when regulation is necessary and, in such cases, the form that regulation should take, so as to minimize the unintended consequences. Using illustrations by the legendary political cartoonist John Tenniel and passages from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass: and What Alice Found There, Telpner gives executiv...