Research and News
News & Announcements
Werbach’s Wharton Global Modular Course on Web3
Recently, from March 5-10, 2023, the Wharton Global Modular Course (GMC) on “L3 for Web3” with 40 MBA/EMBA students took place in London and Lisbon. The course is the first of its kind and was led by Wharton BDAP Director Professor Kevin Werbach who was joined by his...
Werbach at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos
BDAP Director Kevin Werbach was a delegate at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland on January 16-20. In addition to releasing the DAO Toolkit in collaboration with the WEF, he participated in a strategy meeting on blockchain and digital...
Finding Common Ground
The new Wharton BDAP Report "Finding Common Ground" written by our research fellow Bianca Kremer is out now. Reg@Tech is a biannual series on the regulation of digital assets from a multi-jurisdictional perspective. This report is based on Reg@Tech 8, which took place...
Reg@Tech 8 takes place in Philadelphia
On Friday, October 7, 2022, and Saturday, October 8, 2022, Wharton BDAP hosted the eighth edition of the semi-annual Reg@Tech Roundtable in Philadelphia, entitled "Digital Assets and Decentralized Systems." Roundtable participants shared their perspectives on the...
The Digital Asset World of 2035
In this report, written by our research fellow Bianca Kremer, readers will gain insight into the four scenarios developed during Reg@Tech 7 in Philadelphia in March 2022. Roundtable participants were asked to envision the future, specifically the year 2035. Reg@Tech...
DeFi Fellowship 2022-23
[WE ARE NO LONGER SEEKING APPLICANTS FOR THE DEFI FELLOW POSITION] Job Description In 2021, BDAP and the World Economic Forum published DeFi Beyond the Hype and The DeFi Policy-Maker Toolkit, two white papers that helped crystallize the potential and risks of...
Quo Vadis Digital Asset Regulation?
The new Wharton BDAP Report "Quo Vadis Digital Asset Regulation?" written by our research fellow Bianca Kremer is out now. Reg@Tech is a biannual series on the regulation of digital assets from a multi-jurisdictional perspective. This report is based on Reg@Tech 7....
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations: Beyond the Hype released
We are thrilled to announce the release of a joint World Economic Forum and Wharton BDAP publication entitled "Decentralized Autonomous Organizations: Beyond the Hype". This white paper aims to shed light on the topic of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs),...
Werbach designs and teaches Wharton Executive MBA Course
Wharton BDAP Director Professor Kevin Werbach designed an interactive and intensive course in Switzerland for the Wharton Executive MBA candidates during their Global Business Week. Wharton BDAP research fellow Bianca Kremer joined as Werbach's Teaching Assistant. The...
DAO Workshop in Zurich
On Friday, May 6, 2022, Wharton BDAP and the Swiss law firm MME co-organized a workshop on Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) - Legal and Governance Aspects in Zurich. A growing number of communities and blockchain-based protocols are organizing as...
Publications
Back to the Future
New Wharton BDAP report "Back to the Future - The Sixth Reg@Tech Roundtable on Digital Assets" has been released. Reg@Tech is a biannual series on the regulation of digital assets from a multi-jurisdictional perspective. Reg@Tech 6 was held via Zoom on October 14-15,...
Werbach, Written Statement Demystifying Crypto: Digital Assets and the Role of Government (U.S. Joint Economic Committee, Nov. 2021)
Wharton Professor and BDAP Director Kevin Werbach testified in a hearing on the topic of Demystifying Crypto: Digital Assets and the Role of Government before the U. S. Congress Joint Economic Committee held on Wednesday, November 17, 2021. Other witnesses included...
Werbach, Will China’s Ban Hurt Cryptocurrencies? (Knowledge@Wharton, Oct. 2021)
Extract: Prices on cryptocurrency platforms Bitcoin and Ether have been volatile in recent weeks after China’s central bank recently stated that all cryptocurrency-related activities were illegal. That is widely seen as the county’s effort to curb currency...
Werbach, The Opportunities and Dangers of Decentralizing Finance (Knowledge@Wharton, Jun. 2021)
Extract: Decentralized Finance — or DeFi — has experienced explosive growth in the past year. But in order for DeFi to fulfill its promise as a disintermediated ecosystem that helps rather than harms, “now is the time to evaluate its benefits and dangers,” write...
DeFi Policy-Maker Toolkit released
In collaboration with the Wharton Blockchain and Digital Asset Project, the World Economic Forum released the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Policy-Maker Toolkit. Working groups made up of DeFi entrepreneurs, academics, legal practitioners, and experts in regulation...
DeFi Beyond the Hype – The Emerging World of Decentralized Finance (WEF/Wharton BDAP Collaboration Reports, May 2021)
In collaboration with the World Economic Forum, the Wharton Blockchain and Digital Asset Project produced the DeFi Beyond the Hype Report.
Werbach, Does Regulation Chill Cryptocurrency Trading (with Brian Feinstein, The Regulatory Review, Aug. 2020)
Wharton BDAP's director Kevin Werbach and Wharton Assistant Professor Brian Feinstein publish an opinion piece in the Regulatory Review.
Werbach, Opinion: China is Pushing Toward Global Blockchain Dominance (WIRED, Nov. 2019)
Extract: In a speech late last month, Chinese leader Xi Jinping declared blockchain “an important breakthrough,” and promised that China would “seize the opportunity.” He detailed the ways the Chinese government would support blockchain research, development, and...
Wharton BDAP Director Kevin Werbach’s book “The Blockchain and the New Architecture of Trust” (MIT Press) is out now
How the blockchain—a system built on foundations of mutual mistrust—can become trustworthy. The blockchain entered the world on January 3, 2009, introducing an innovative new trust architecture: an environment in which users trust a system—for example, a shared ledger...
Werbach, Why Blockchain Isn’t a Revolution (Knowledge@Wharton, Jun. 2018)
Extract: The terms Bitcoin and blockchain are sometimes used interchangeably, but there’s actually some misunderstanding about the innovation. In this opinion piece, Kevin Werbach, Wharton professor of legal studies and business ethics, explains the differences among...