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What’s holding back blockchain finance? On the possibility of decentralized autonomous finance

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  • Harwick, Cameron
  • Caton, James

Abstract

Despite the past decade’s rapid innovation in adapting blockchain technology to new uses, financial intermediation remains elusive except in basic and highly collateralized forms. We introduce the concept of the technical frontier to delimit the kinds of interactions that can feasibly be structured algorithmically among pseudonymous agents, as on a blockchain, and show that lending and financial intermediation – unlike monetary exchange – lie outside it, even in simple forms. The path forward for truly blockchain-native financial applications, therefore, must involve the integration of real-world identity information in order to disincentivize defection. We discuss several potential technologies for doing so, and conclude that such integration is possible without compromising pseudonymity, provided real-world identity is available in the breach.

Suggested Citation

  • Harwick, Cameron & Caton, James, 2022. "What’s holding back blockchain finance? On the possibility of decentralized autonomous finance," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 420-429.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:quaeco:v:84:y:2022:i:c:p:420-429
    DOI: 10.1016/j.qref.2020.09.006
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cryptocurrency; Blockchain; Game theory; Financial intermediation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • E51 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Money Supply; Credit; Money Multipliers
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

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