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Full-Text Articles in Macroeconomics
Cryptocurrency, Decentralized Finance, And The Evolution Of Money: A Transaction Costs Approach, James L. Caton Jr, Cameron Harwick
Cryptocurrency, Decentralized Finance, And The Evolution Of Money: A Transaction Costs Approach, James L. Caton Jr, Cameron Harwick
Journal of New Finance
We leverage a transaction costs narrative to provide a theoretically unified presentation of the evolution of exchange, with the latest evolutionary frontier being cryptocurrency and decentralized finance. We show that with each new development in the evolution of money, the new form or medium of exchange must reduce transaction costs relative to relevant alternatives. The development of blockchain and cryptocurrency reduced the cost of transferring currency by removing the need for a trusted third party to intermediate funds while also providing the benefit of anonymity/pseudonymity. Likewise, decentralized finance does not require a third party to intermediate savings and investment and …
Regulating Bitcoin - On What Grounds?, William J. Luther
Regulating Bitcoin - On What Grounds?, William J. Luther
Journal of New Finance
This paper assesses costs and benefits of regulating Bitcoin. A review of the main justifications for regulating it shows that scope for efficient regulation is limited. Private governance structures and fee-based services have already begun addressing many of the known problems. Furthermore, since a regulation would discourage use, the costs—in terms of technological gains forgone—are potentially high. Nonetheless, there is scope for regulation, to ensure one has recourse in the event of theft, as long as the following are addressed: 1) provide a clear regulatory framework; 2) supervise transactions to dissuade crime, without compromising the medium; 3) regulate exchanges, rather …