Cryptoeconomics

Research Overview

Author: Cathy Barrera, Stephanie Hurder
Release Date: January 13, 2020

Abstract:

This project is an executive’s guide to the emerging field of cryptoeconomics, the study of individual and collective choices in blockchain-based environments. These environments are more difficult to change than other software ecosystems, and so their creators must design them very thoughtfully. The authors provide a framework for economic design and walk through the phases of the design process. Through the case studies of Nestlé OpenSC, AXA fizzy, and the Synaptic Health Alliance, they analyze the challenges that stakeholders face in governing blockchain projects, and they explain why many projects fail to achieve their goals. It is a must-read for anyone interested in adopting, contributing to, or participating in a new blockchain initiative.

Copyright 2020 Blockchain Research Institute – not for distribution

Cryptoeconomics

Related Content

Platforms for Sustainable Food Production

This brief shows how blockchain technologies, combined with mobile access to drones, sensors, satellite imagery, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and other innovations, can secure our global food supply, one farm at a time. The solutions it explores focus on topsoil to mitigate the harmful effects of chemicals, aggressive tillage, monocultural crops, and climate change. The goal is to give smallholders—often the poorest farmers with less than two hectares of land in jurisdictions hardest hit by environmental and humanitarian crises—the tools and training they need for sustainable food production, transforming the long-term viability of their businesses and the future of their families in the process.

Read More

State of Enterprise Blockchain: A Mid-Year Review

This project reports on the state of the enterprise blockchain space. It begins with commentary on the state of the world writ large—from the pandemic’s effects on the economy and the global need for vaccinations to the K-shaped recovery and the consequences of helicopter money (e.g., inflation). It covers a series of developments relevant to enterprise users: the price volatility of cryptocurrencies, the shortcomings of consensus mechanisms for enterprise needs, the growth of stablecoins, the status of tokenless blockchains and blockchain-as-a-service offerings, and the latest on central bank digital currencies (e.g., China’s digital currency electronic payment initiative). It concludes with a summary of implementation challenges that enterprise applications must overcome to gain traction. It’s time for blockchain innovators to address enterprise leaders’ tough questions about use cases, regulation, criminal usage, and environmental harm.

Read More
Subscribe