Название: The Economics of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency: A Transaction Costs Revolution
Автор: James Lee Caton
Издательство: Edward Elgar Publishing
Год: 2022
Страниц: 222
Язык: английский
Формат: pdf (true)
Размер: 10.2 MB

This timely book is an innovative look at how blockchain technology will transform the structure of social and economic life. The security of blockchain supports the provision and maintenance of reliable databases and the creation of rule-based governance protocols. Leading contributors expertly review the impact of blockchain on existing structures of law, monetary systems, supply chains and business organizations.

Using economic and institutional theory, the book presents a vision for understanding the future development of blockchain technology and outlines the likely path of transformation that blockchain will drive in industry, supply chains and firms. Furthermore, it answers key questions such as: will Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency become the money of the future? How has blockchain already begun transforming economic activity? How can we evaluate the likely trajectory of technological development and application?

Blockchain technology can also record real world assets to the accounting register. As with cryptocurrency, blockchain can facilitate transfer of ownership of assets or transformation of the attributes of ownership. The Ethereum blockchain, among others, provides this service. The Ethereum blockchain facilitates the creation of “smart contracts” that define obligations of each party to the contract and that can be automatically executed. When the terms of a contract are met, assignment of ownership over assets can be automatically transferred according to these terms. If information from outside the blockchain is provided by an oracle, then “smart contracts” can use this information external to the blockchain to trigger such an event. For example, smart contracts may dictate the terms of repayment for a loan intermediated by the blockchain. Or, when a delivery of grain is confirmed by radio frequency identification (RFID), a financial transaction can be triggered by this confirmation (Chapter 6). This transaction might consist of transfer of traditional legal tender or cryptocurrency in exchange for the product delivered.

This informative book is an excellent resource for academics or professionals interested in a theoretically sound perspective on blockchain. Written in an accessible prose, it provides an introduction for non-experts looking to learn more about the wide-ranging implications of blockchain and cryptocurrency.