This discussion paper examines the localization of the oversight and regulatory roles for cryptocurrencies using the case of Bitlicense which is issued in New York by the Department of Financial Services, with a view to discussing the possibilities for localized regulatory licenses and agent...

This discussion paper constitutes a summary enumeration of the merits of proof-of-stake (PoS) algorithmic designs in cryptocurrencies, particularly in contrast to proof-of-work (PoW) and proof-of-research (PoR) designs, and this in turn raises questions about the suitable choices of...

This discussion paper examines the recent history of cryptocurrency thefts and exchanges shutdowns, focusing specifically on the largest cryptoinstrument: Bitcoin. The examination of thefts and shutdowns are intended to draw academic attention to the accountability deficits that pervade the...

This discussion paper uses Bitconnect as its lens to examine the challenges of transparency and accountability that have beset the cryptocurrency space, particularly in terms of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), cryptoexchange shutdowns, and Ponzi scheme risks. The findings of the paper suggest...

This paper discusses the intersection of environmentalism and cryptoanarchism, in the form of Gridcoin, a cryptocurrency which aims to mitigate the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining, through the implementation of two methods: a Proof-of-Research scheme and a Proof-of-Stake protocol....

The Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has fomented a moral crisis for administrations struggling to choose between “lives” and “livelihoods”, i.e. between mitigating the public health fallout and averting an economic depression. The challenge is being met, and public value trade-off...

This working paper considers the structural challenges that confront the Pakistan economy beyond the immediate impositions of contending with COVID(coronavirus). Using a general thematic approach, the paper seeks to look beyond the urgent preoccupations of COVID to grapple with the important...

Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) is a heterodox macroeconomic lens that recontextualizes the role of monetary and fiscal policy in sovereign governments that borrow and issue national debt in their own monetary instrument. It MMT thus describes the practical uses of fiat currency in a public...

The price of cryptocurrencies has been a contentious practitioner and academic question, on one hand because of its nuanced relationship to traditional finance (with challenges of mainstreaming), and on the other hand regarding its role as a hedge against hyperinflation, financial crises, and...

Virtual Assets (VAs) and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) are an area of heightened international financial regulatory interest. Although the FATF has wasted much time as a politicized instrument of economic violence against smaller economies, there are nevertheless technical areas where...