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Assets on the blockchain: An empirical study of Tokenomics

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  • Lo, Yuen C.
  • Medda, Francesca

Abstract

Digital tokens linked to financial and economic ventures may have multiple functions and uses. In this work, we examine the relationship between various token functions and the market price of the corresponding token. We consider 86 venture related blockchain tokens, and develop the analysis through a stepwise testing of four hypotheses using panel ordinary least squares with cluster-robust standard errors. We find that token functions are statistically significant in relation to token prices. In the absence of an established legal framework, we argue that our results complements recent regulatory actions identifying tokens to be investment contracts in a common venture.

Suggested Citation

  • Lo, Yuen C. & Medda, Francesca, 2020. "Assets on the blockchain: An empirical study of Tokenomics," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iepoli:v:53:y:2020:i:c:s0167624520301256
    DOI: 10.1016/j.infoecopol.2020.100881
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    Cited by:

    1. Muneer M. Alshater & Mayank Joshipura & Rim El Khoury & Nohade Nasrallah, 2023. "Initial Coin Offerings: a Hybrid Empirical Review," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 891-908, October.
    2. Nicola Dimitri, 2023. "The Economic Value of Dual-Token Blockchains," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-19, August.
    3. Volker Brühl, 2021. "Decentralised Finance — wie die Tokenisierung die Finanzindustrie verändert [Decentralised Finance (DeFi) — How Tokenisation is Changing the Financial Industry]," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 101(8), pages 629-637, August.
    4. Kumar, Shashank & Raut, Rakesh D. & Agrawal, Nishant & Cheikhrouhou, Naoufel & Sharma, Mahak & Daim, Tugrul, 2022. "Integrated blockchain and internet of things in the food supply chain: Adoption barriers," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    5. Ernest Barceló & Katarina Dimić-Mišić & Monir Imani & Vesna Spasojević Brkić & Michael Hummel & Patrick Gane, 2023. "Regulatory Paradigm and Challenge for Blockchain Integration of Decentralized Systems: Example—Renewable Energy Grids," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-27, January.
    6. Lo, Yuen & Medda, Francesca, 2020. "Uniswap and the rise of the decentralized exchange," MPRA Paper 103925, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Zhao, Yuan & Liu, Nan & Li, Wanpeng, 2022. "Industry herding in crypto assets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    8. David Rozas & Antonio Tenorio-Fornés & Silvia Díaz-Molina & Samer Hassan, 2021. "When Ostrom Meets Blockchain: Exploring the Potentials of Blockchain for Commons Governance," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(1), pages 21582440211, March.
    9. Oscar Lage & María Saiz-Santos & José Manuel Zarzuelo, 2022. "Decentralized platform economy: emerging blockchain-based decentralized platform business models," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(3), pages 1707-1723, September.
    10. Kensuke Ito, 2024. "Cryptoeconomics and Tokenomics as Economics: A Survey with Opinions," Papers 2407.15715, arXiv.org.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Blockchain; Bitcoin; Ethereum; Initial coin offering; Tokenization; Tokenomics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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