Posts in central bank / CBDC
Why Facebook's Libra needs to change course, Ethereum's Fintech promise, and a look at JP Morgan's blockchain analysis
Why Facebook's Libra needs to change course, Ethereum's Fintech promise, and a look at JP Morgan's blockchain analysis

I anchor around the issues Libra is seeing in trying to develop a money, and what alternate strategies are available. We also analyze elements of a JP Morgan 2020 blockchain report, which highlights the differences between running a financial products (like a money) and a financial software (like a payments processor). In light of this necessary pivot for the regulated Facebook, we look again at Ethereum's decentralized finance ecosystem and the types of challengers it has created for Jack Henry, Finastra, Envestnet, TradeWeb, and other infrastructure providers.

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central bank / CBDC, governance, enterprise blockchain, decentralized finance, regulation & complianceLex SokolinJP Morgan, Facebook, Ethereum, Jack Henry, Finastra, Envestnet, TradeWeb, Libra / Diem, CBDC, Stripe, PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, Bitcoin
How are Central Bank Digital Currencies like Lithium-ion Batteries, and how do you build a CBDC today?
How are Central Bank Digital Currencies like Lithium-ion Batteries, and how do you build a CBDC today?

I examine the rising relevance of Central Bank Digital Currencies. We look at the World Economic Forum policy guide to understand different versions of CBDCs and their relative systemic scale, and the ConsenSys technical architecture guide to understand how one could be implemented today. For context, we also dive into a very different topic -- Lithium ion batteries -- and show how a change in the cost of a fundamental component part (e.g, 85% cost reduction in energy, or financial infrastructure) opens up a massive creative space for entrepreneurs.

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central bank / CBDC, paytech, energyLex SokolinCBDC, Bitcoin, Spotify, Tesla, Bank of England, World Economic Forum, ConsenSys, Libra / Diem
Top 5 Decentralized Finance predictions for 2020 and beyond
Top 5 Decentralized Finance predictions for 2020 and beyond

In the long take this week, I revisit decentralized finance, providing both an overview and 2019 update. The meat of the writing is the following long-range predictions for the space in the next decade -- (1) the role of Fintech champions like Revolut and Robinhood as it relates to DeFi, (2) increasing systemic correlation and self-reference in the space, which requires emerging metrics for risk and transparency, and (3) the potential for national services like Social Security and student lending to run on DeFi infrastucture, (4) the promise of pulling real assets into DeFi smart contracts and earning staking rewards, and (5) continued importance of trying to bridge into Bitcoin. Here's to an outlandish 2020!

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crypto, decentralized finance, stablecoins, central bank / CBDC, ICO / IEO, digital securities / STOLex SokolinEthereum, EOS, Tron, Uniswap, MakerDAO, USDT, Set Protocol, Nexus Mutual, UMA Protocol, Synthetix, Coinbase, Argent, InstaDApp, Zerion, Centrifuge, Figure, Bitcoin
Shifting from Institutions to Retail Clients -- NYSE direct listings and Central Bank digital currencies
Shifting from Institutions to Retail Clients -- NYSE direct listings and Central Bank digital currencies

I look at the similarities between the NYSE building out direct listing products to augment or replace IPOs, and Central Banks considering launching consumer-facing digital currencies. In each case, the value chain of the respective financial sector is compressing, as the underlying manufacturers of financial product move closer to the consumer. I also highlight how a few blockchain-native alternatives to trading and rebalancing software are developing, and the reasons to get excited about things like Set, Uniswap, and Aragon.

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ICO / IEO, stablecoins, central bank / CBDC, exchanges / cap mkts, IPO / SPACLex SokolinNYSE, NASDAQ, Spotify, Slack, E-krona, Bitcoin, Visa, Uniswap, Set Protocol, Wyre, Aragon