We study funding mechanisms for new ventures based on cryptographic tokens enabled by blockchain technology, such as initial coin offerings (ICOs). The infrastructure built around blockchain allows for efficient trading of these tokens. Thus the due diligence process can be crowdsourced beyond...

Prior evidence linking increased female representation in management to corporate performance has been surprisingly mixed, due in part to data limitations and methodological difficulties, and possibly to omission of a fairness factor in the economic theory of discrimination. We introduce a new...

We analyze how network effects affect competition in the nascent cryptocurrency market. We do so by examining early dynamics of exchange rates among different cryptocurrencies. While Bitcoin eventually dominates this market, our data suggest no evidence of a winner-take-all effect early in the...

We consider dynamic competition among platforms in a market with network externalities. A platform that dominated the market in the previous period becomes “focal” in the current period, in that agents play the equilibrium in which they adopt the focal platform whenever such equilibrium...

We analyze how network effects affect competition in the nascent cryptocurrency market. We do so by examining the changes over time in exchange rate data among cryptocurrencies. Specifically, we look at two aspects: (1) competition among different currencies, and (2) competition among exchanges...

Concluding thoughts and outlook for the future of the technology. For Chapter 1 (Introduction), see "https://ssrn.com/abstract=3135021" https://ssrn.com/abstract=3135021. For Chapter 2 (Means of Exchange: Ever-present Competition), "https://ssrn.com/abstract=3135028"...

In this chapter, we discuss economic aspects of cryptocurrencies. 4.1. The double spending problem 4.2. How does Bitcoin work? Brief overview 4.3. Not the first one – predecessors of Bitcoin 4.4. Problems with Bitcoin (new challenges) 4.5. Competition against other crypto-currencies 4.6....

In this chapter, we analyze digital currencies issued by Internet platforms. We use examples of Facebook Credits, Amazon Coins, World of Warcraft gold and Linden dollars to illustrate how designing the features of digital currencies allows the platforms to enhance their business model. 3.1....

In this chapter, we present the history of money in the light of ever-present competition between means of payment. 2.1. The medium of exchange – historical overview 2.2. What roles does money serve? 2.3. Competing money 2.3.1. Coexistence is costly 2.3.2. Network effects 2.3.3. The difficulty...

It is generally agreed that permissioned blockchains can improve on the operational cost and performance of permissionless blockchains, but it is usually assumed that this improvement comes at the cost of transaction security, especially in low-trust environments. We develop a model of...