Research and News
News & Announcements
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...
A Turning Point for Digital Asset Regulation
On Wednesday, March 9, 2022, President Biden's Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets was released. Wharton BDAP Director Kevin Werbach wrote an opinion piece which was published in The Regulatory Review.
The Global Challenge of Digital Asset Regulation
Wharton BDAP's director Kevin Werbach and research fellow Bianca Kremer published an article in the Competition Policy International TechREG Chronicle, February 2022 issue. Abstract: Digital assets add complexity to an already complex global financial system....
WEF and Wharton launch DAO Series
Last year, the Wharton Blockchain and Digital Asset Project collaborated with the World Economic Forum to release the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Policy-Maker Toolkit. We are excited to announce a new collaboration with the Forum's Crypto Impact and Sustainability...
Werbach testifies before Senate Committee
On Wednesday, February 9, 2022, the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry invited witnesses to a hearing on Examining Digital Assets: Risks, Regulation, and Innovation organized in two panels. During the first panel, the Honorable...
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 testifies before Joint Economic Committee
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...
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...
Publications
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...
Regulatory Considerations for Token Offerings (Wharton BDAP Reports, Jun. 2018)
This report is based on the Reg@Tech Workshop on Cryptocurrencies and Token Offerings held at the Wharton School in Spring 2018. The meeting brought together over 40 regulators, legal advisors, token issuers, service providers, academics, and other experts from around...