This master thesis examines the conceptual and technical specifications of Facebook's Libra project, which provides a comprehensive understanding of the fiat-backed digital currency, the payment system and financial infrastructures for billions of people to be launched in the first half of 2020....

Cryptocurrency refers to a type of digital asset that uses distributed ledger, or blockchain, technology to enable a secure transaction. Although the technology is widely misunderstood, many central banks are considering launching their own national cryptocurrency. In contrast to most data in...

The mobile money transfer industry has been the most successful information and communications technology-enabled service in Kenya, having recorded an exponential growth relative to its neighbours within the East Africa region. This could be attributed to Kenya's status as a leading commercial...

Blockchain technology breathes new life into the classical analysis of money as a substitute for a ledger of all past transactions. While it involves updating the ledger through a decentralized consensus on the unique truth, the robustness of the equilibrium that supports this consensus depends...

We develop a dynamic asset pricing model of cryptocurrencies/tokens that allows users to conduct peer-to-peer transactions on digital platforms. The equilibrium value of tokens is determined by aggregating heterogeneous users' transactional demand rather than discounting cash flows, as is done...

This paper analyzes PoW blockchain network's long-term cost ef- ficiency and short-term stability. Our equilibrium model builds upon the optimization problems of blockchain users and miners, and allows us to simultaneously determine token price, network hashrate, and user transaction fee. We...

This paper provides background to the upcoming EU regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA). The first step to regulate crypto-assets at EU level was taken by including virtual currencies in the revision of the Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) which came into force 2018. Initial coin...

Developing countries need to raise sufficient tax revenue to finance development. Revenue mobilization is often hampered by limited tax compliance, weak institutions, and technical problems with tax collection. One solution to these challenges is person-to-government (P2G) mobile phone payments,...

This study investigates the role that of mobile money on the effect of banking on income inequalities on a panel of 105 developing countries over a period from 1990-2019. We use the system GMMs estimator to examine this relationship for income inequality before as well as after taxes and...