The Blockchain Oracle Problem in Decentralized Finance - a Multivocal Approach
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CASP) Software-Only, Ledger Agnostic, Platform Agnostic, Crypto Agile Bank-Grade Security for Crypto Assets
Protect Your Crypto Assets with Unbound’s Crypto Assets Security Platform (CASP) Software-Only, Ledger Agnostic, Platform Agnostic, Crypto Agile Bank-Grade Security for Crypto Assets Mathematically proven security Cryptography is one of the foundational security elements used by guarantee – the key material never organizations to protect sensitive data, transactions, services and identities. exists in the clear throughout its At the core of any cryptography implementation is the management of lifecycle including creation, in-use cryptographic keys and their protection from compromise and misuse. and at-rest With crypto assets, the protection of private keys is top priority, since the Any currency, any ledger, any private key is used to sign each transaction. It is therefore mandatory platform, any client to keep the key secure – not only from compromise, but also from any Programmatically derived malicious usage – as it takes only one fraudulent transaction (i.e. a single sign addresses (BIP 32/44) that are operation, to empty a wallet). cryptographically protected Backed by proven mathematical guarantees of security, Unbound’s Crypto Stronger and more flexible than Asset Security Platform (CASP) provides its customers with a software-only multi-signature – ledger-agnostic support of flexible quorum security platform that is as safe as hardware. With CASP, one can fully manage structures, any number of human the keys’ lifecycle, define cryptographically-based approval policies, while and/or servers, internal and supporting any currency, any ledger, any platform and any client type. external, that are required to sign a transaction Any Currency, Any Ledger, Any Platform Infinite scalability – easily scale capacity when and where it is Traditionally, securing the keys and secrets that guard the organizations’ most needed valuable assets required the use of dedicated hardware, such as hardware Intuitive and easy to use SDK – security modules (HSMs) and smartcards. -
Blockchain and Initial Coin Offerings: Blockchain´S Implications for Crowdfunding
Blockchain and Initial Coin Offerings: Blockchain´s Implications for Crowdfunding by Laurin Arnold, Martin Brennecke, Patrick Camus, Gilbert Fridgen, Tobias Guggenberger, Sven Radszuwill, Alexander Rieger, Andre Schweizer, Nils Urbach December 2018 in: Business Transformation through Blockchain (Hrsg. Treiblmaier, H., Beck, R.) University of Augsburg, D-86135 Augsburg Visitors: Universitätsstr. 12, 86159 Augsburg Phone: +49 821 598-4801 (Fax: -4899) 843 University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth - I Visitors: Wittelsbacherring 10, 95444 Bayreuth W Phone: +49 921 55-4710 (Fax: -844710) www.fim-rc.de Blockchain and Initial Coin Offerings: Blockchain’s Implications for Crowdfunding Abstract Interest in Blockchain technology is growing rapidly and at a global scale. As scrutiny from practitioners and researchers intensifies, various industries and use cases are identified that may benefit from adopting Blockchain. In this context, peer-to-peer (P2P) funding through initial coin offerings (ICOs) is often singled out as one of the most visible and promising use cases. ICOs are novel forms of crowdfunding that collect funds in exchange for so-called Blockchain tokens. These tokens can represent any traditional form of underlying asset and have already been used, among others, to denote shares in a company, user reputations in online systems, deposits of fiat currencies, and balances in cryptocurrency systems. Importantly, ICOs allow for P2P investments without intermediaries. In this chapter, we explain the fundamentals of ICOs, highlight their differences to traditional financing, and analyze their potential impacts on crowdfunding. Keywords Blockchain, Initial Coin Offering, ICO, Distributed Ledger Technology, Crowdfunding, Cryptocurrency, Crypto-token, Use Case Analysis Table of Contents 1. Crowdfunding and Blockchain ....................................................................................................... -
Linking Wallets and Deanonymizing Transactions in the Ripple Network
Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies ; 2016 (4):436–453 Pedro Moreno-Sanchez*, Muhammad Bilal Zafar, and Aniket Kate* Listening to Whispers of Ripple: Linking Wallets and Deanonymizing Transactions in the Ripple Network Abstract: The decentralized I owe you (IOU) transac- 1 Introduction tion network Ripple is gaining prominence as a fast, low- cost and efficient method for performing same and cross- In recent years, we have observed a rather unexpected currency payments. Ripple keeps track of IOU credit its growth of IOU transaction networks such as Ripple [36, users have granted to their business partners or friends, 40]. Its pseudonymous nature, ability to perform multi- and settles transactions between two connected Ripple currency transactions across the globe in a matter of wallets by appropriately changing credit values on the seconds, and potential to monetize everything [15] re- connecting paths. Similar to cryptocurrencies such as gardless of jurisdiction have been pivotal to their suc- Bitcoin, while the ownership of the wallets is implicitly cess so far. In a transaction network [54, 55, 59] such as pseudonymous in Ripple, IOU credit links and transac- Ripple [10], users express trust in each other in terms tion flows between wallets are publicly available in an on- of I Owe You (IOU) credit they are willing to extend line ledger. In this paper, we present the first thorough each other. This online approach allows transactions in study that analyzes this globally visible log and charac- fiat money, cryptocurrencies (e.g., bitcoin1) and user- terizes the privacy issues with the current Ripple net- defined currencies, and improves on some of the cur- work. -
Decentralized Finance – the Possibilities of a Blockchain “Money Lego” System*
Financial and Economic Review, Vol. 20 Issue 1, March 2021, 74–102. Decentralized Finance – The Possibilities of a Blockchain “Money Lego” System* Tamás Katona With the adoption of blockchain technology, initiatives to provide financial, investment and insurance services to a wide range of users in a decentralized manner have emerged. But can decentralized finance be the alternative to the traditional financial system, or has it only created another “technology playground” for users who are biasedly enthusiastic about crypto-assets? The study examines the key definitions of decentralized finance and then synthesizes them to formulate a new, more complete definition. This is followed by a presentation of the different layers of decentralized finance and their prevalence, as well as an analysis of its benefits and risks. In the conclusions, the author finds that decentralized finance has the potential to provide financial services with an open, transparent and robust infrastructure, and has the possibility of reaching a broad range of users with its basic financial services. However, this requires further development of the sector and effective management of emerging risks. Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) codes: G10, G15, G20, G23, G24, G28 Keywords: blockchain, decentralized finance, Ethereum, crypto-assets, smart contract, yield farming, liquidity mining 1. Introduction The financial system has undergone fundamental changes in recent years, with the appearance of the FinTech sector.1 New providers have entered the financial markets, combining digital technologies and financial services in a more efficient and innovative way than any other solution so far. The FinTech ecosystem consists of vastly diverse players, some of which provide new products and services, occasionally outside existing regulations, while others seek to sell products offered * The papers in this issue contain the views of the authors which are not necessarily the same as the official views of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank. -
Initial Coin Offerings: Financing Growth with Cryptocurrency Token
Initial Coin Offerings: Financing Growth with Cryptocurrency Token Sales Sabrina T. Howell, Marina Niessner, and David Yermack⇤ June 21, 2018 Abstract Initial coin offerings (ICOs) are sales of blockchain-based digital tokens associated with specific platforms or assets. Since 2014 ICOs have emerged as a new financing instrument, with some parallels to IPOs, venture capital, and pre-sale crowdfunding. We examine the relationship between issuer characteristics and measures of success, with a focus on liquidity, using 453 ICOs that collectively raise $5.7 billion. We also employ propriety transaction data in a case study of Filecoin, one of the most successful ICOs. We find that liquidity and trading volume are higher when issuers offer voluntary disclosure, credibly commit to the project, and signal quality. s s ss s ss ss ss s ⇤NYU Stern and NBER; Yale SOM; NYU Stern, ECGI and NBER. Email: [email protected]. For helpful comments, we are grateful to Bruno Biais, Darrell Duffie, seminar participants at the OECD Paris Workshop on Digital Financial Assets, Erasmus University, and the Swedish House of Finance. We thank Protocol Labs and particularly Evan Miyazono and Juan Benet for providing data. Sabrina Howell thanks the Kauffman Foundation for financial support. We are also grateful to all of our research assistants, especially Jae Hyung (Fred) Kim. Part of this paper was written while David Yermack was a visiting professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam. 1Introduction Initial coin offerings (ICOs) may be a significant innovation in entrepreneurial finance. In an ICO, a blockchain-based venture raises capital by selling cryptographically secured digital assets, usually called “tokens.” These ventures often resemble the startups that conventionally finance themselves with angel or venture capital (VC) investment, though there are many scams, jokes, and tokens that have nothing to do with a new product or business. -
CRYPTOCURRENCIES & DECENTRALIZED FINANCE THREAT OR OPPORTUNITY? Strategic Resource Management
02 – 25 – 21 CRYPTOCURRENCIES & DECENTRALIZED FINANCE THREAT OR OPPORTUNITY? Strategic Resource Management Presented By: Larry Pruss, Senior Executive Vice President srmcorp.com SRM Proprietary and Confidential 1 LARRY PRUSS Senior Vice President 20+ Years of Financial Services Experience STRATEGIC RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Doing Business since 1992 Helps financial institutions improve performance through benchmarks, data, and analytics $3.6 Billion in implemented cost savings/ revenue increases 2 SRM Proprietary and Confidential • All information found here, including any ideas, opinions, views, predictions, forecasts, commentaries, or suggestions, expressed or implied herein, are for informational, entertainment or educational DISCLAIMER purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. • The cryptocurrency industry is extremely fast- moving. Data/statistics become outdated quickly. While the information provided is believed to be accurate, it may include errors or inaccuracies. 3 SRM Proprietary and Confidential WHAT DO THESE COMPANIES HAVE I N C O M M O N ? 4 SRM Proprietary and Confidential W H A T I S CRYPTOCURRENCY? In broad strokes, a Ownership and transaction Cryptocurrencies are cryptocurrency is a digital records are recorded onto becoming popular with asset used as a medium of a digital ledger called a retail and institutional exchange. “blockchain”. investors, sovereign wealth funds, and even countries. 5 SRM Proprietary and Confidential It’s the basis of a decentralized cryptocurrency. It is a distributed ledger, -
Defi Adoption 2020: a Definitive Guide to Entering the Industry
DeFi Adoption 2020: A Definitive Guide to Entering the Industry DeFI Adoption 2020: A Definitive Guide to Entering the Industry 1 Disclaimer This work is copyrighted in 2020 by Cointelegraph Consulting. The paper is free to copy and redistribute in any medium or format. However, you must give appropriate credit, provide a link to this document, and indicate if changes were made. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material. We suggest the following citation: Cointelegraph Consulting. DeFi Adoption 2020: A Definitive Guide to Entering the Industry. The content in this report is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. DeFI Adoption 2020: A Definitive Guide to Entering the Industry 2 Part 1.1 What is Decentralized Finance (DeFi)? Decentralized Finance (“DeFi”), is the idea that traditional financial service offerings such as banks, markets, and other investment services can be recreated or improved upon using applications created on the blockchain. DeFi is an ecosystem of blockchain-based financial instruments designed in the decentralized way: ā outside of companies’ and governments’ regulation ā running on smart contracts There is no reliance on centralized authorities and stakeholders come together to build a permissionless ecosystem. The idea driving the majority of the industry players is to open financial services to everyone by building a permissionless ecosystem. DeFi recreates traditional financial services — i.e. lending & borrowing, trading, and even insurance — tailored for storing, earning, or Learn DeFi: Smart Contracts: transferring digital assets. -
Review Articles
review articles DOI:10.1145/3372115 system is designed to achieve common Software weaknesses in cryptocurrencies security goals: transaction integrity and availability in a highly distributed sys- create unique challenges in responsible tem whose participants are incentiv- revelations. ized to cooperate.38 Users interact with the cryptocurrency system via software BY RAINER BÖHME, LISA ECKEY, TYLER MOORE, “wallets” that manage the cryptograph- NEHA NARULA, TIM RUFFING, AND AVIV ZOHAR ic keys associated with the coins of the user. These wallets can reside on a local client machine or be managed by an online service provider. In these appli- cations, authenticating users and Responsible maintaining confidentiality of crypto- graphic key material are the central se- curity goals. Exchanges facilitate trade Vulnerability between cryptocurrencies and between cryptocurrencies and traditional forms of money. Wallets broadcast cryptocur- Disclosure in rency transactions to a network of nodes, which then relay transactions to miners, who in turn validate and group Cryptocurrencies them together into blocks that are ap- pended to the blockchain. Not all cryptocurrency applications revolve around payments. Some crypto- currencies, most notably Ethereum, support “smart contracts” in which general-purpose code can be executed with integrity assurances and recorded DESPITE THE FOCUS on operating in adversarial on the distributed ledger. An explosion of token systems has appeared, in environments, cryptocurrencies have suffered a litany which particular functionality is ex- of security and privacy problems. Sometimes, these pressed and run on top of a cryptocur- rency.12 Here, the promise is that busi- issues are resolved without much fanfare following ness logic can be specified in the smart a disclosure by the individual who found the hole. -
Gold Standard for Passive Income on the Blockchain
Anchor: Gold Standard for Passive Income on the Blockchain Nicholas Platias, Eui Joon Lee, Marco Di Maggio June 2020 Abstract Despite the proliferation of financial products, DeFi has yet to produce a savings product simple and safe enough to gain mass adoption. The price volatility of most cryptoassets makes staking unfit for the vast majority of consumers. On the other end of the spectrum, the cyclical nature of stablecoin interest rates on DeFi staples like Maker and Compound makes those protocols ill-suited for a household savings product. To address this pressing need we introduce Anchor, a savings protocol on the Terra blockchain that offers yield powered by block rewards of major Proof-of-Stake blockchains. Anchor offers a principal-protected stablecoin savings product that pays depositors a stable interest rate. It achieves this by stabilizing the deposit interest rate with block rewards accruing to assets that are used to borrow stablecoins. Anchor will thus offer DeFi’s benchmark interest rate, determined by the yield of the PoS blockchains with highest demand. Ultimately, we envision Anchor to become the gold standard for passive income on the blockchain. 1 Introduction In the past few years we have witnessed explosive growth in Decentralized Finance (DeFi). We have seen the launch of a wide range of financial applications covering a broad range of use cases, including collateralized lending (Compound), decentralized ex- changes (Uniswap) and prediction markets (Augur). Despite early success and a robust influx of brains and capital, DeFi has yet to produce a simple and convenient savings product with broad appeal outside the world of crypto natives. -
Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Regulation
Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Regulation Third Edition Contributing Editor: Josias N. Dewey Global Legal Insights Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Regulation 2021, Third Edition Contributing Editor: Josias N. Dewey Published by Global Legal Group GLOBAL LEGAL INSIGHTS – BLOCKCHAIN & CRYPTOCURRENCY REGULATION 2021, THIRD EDITION Contributing Editor Josias N. Dewey, Holland & Knight LLP Head of Production Suzie Levy Senior Editor Sam Friend Sub Editor Megan Hylton Consulting Group Publisher Rory Smith Chief Media Officer Fraser Allan We are extremely grateful for all contributions to this edition. Special thanks are reserved for Josias N. Dewey of Holland & Knight LLP for all of his assistance. Published by Global Legal Group Ltd. 59 Tanner Street, London SE1 3PL, United Kingdom Tel: +44 207 367 0720 / URL: www.glgroup.co.uk Copyright © 2020 Global Legal Group Ltd. All rights reserved No photocopying ISBN 978-1-83918-077-4 ISSN 2631-2999 This publication is for general information purposes only. It does not purport to provide comprehensive full legal or other advice. Global Legal Group Ltd. and the contributors accept no responsibility for losses that may arise from reliance upon information contained in this publication. This publication is intended to give an indication of legal issues upon which you may need advice. Full legal advice should be taken from a qualified professional when dealing with specific situations. The information contained herein is accurate as of the date of publication. Printed and bound by TJ International, Trecerus Industrial Estate, Padstow, Cornwall, PL28 8RW October 2020 PREFACE nother year has passed and virtual currency and other blockchain-based digital assets continue to attract the attention of policymakers across the globe. -
(AAVE), Bancor (BNT) and Synthetix (SNX) Are Launching on Coinbase Pro | by Coinbase | Dec, 2020 | the Coinbase Blog
12/15/2020 Aave (AAVE), Bancor (BNT) and Synthetix (SNX) are launching on Coinbase Pro | by Coinbase | Dec, 2020 | The Coinbase Blog Aave (AAVE), Bancor (BNT) and Synthetix (SNX) are launching on Coinbase Pro Coinbase Follow Dec 15 · 3 min read Starting Today Monday December 14, transfer AAVE, BNT and SNX into your Coinbase Pro account ahead of trading. Support for AAVE, BNT and SNX will be available in all Coinbase’s supported jurisdictions, with the exception of New York State. Trading will begin on or after 9AM Pacific Time (PT) Tuesday December 15, if liquidity conditions are met. One of the most common requests we receive from customers is to be able to trade more assets on our platform. Per the terms of our listing process, we anticipate supporting https://blog.coinbase.com/aave-aave-bancor-bnt-and-synthetix-snx-are-launching-on-coinbase-pro-67278bcd8192 1/3 12/15/2020 Aave (AAVE), Bancor (BNT) and Synthetix (SNX) are launching on Coinbase Pro | by Coinbase | Dec, 2020 | The Coinbase Blog more assets that meet our standards over time. Most recently we have added trading support for Filecoin (FIL), NuCypher (NU), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), Balancer (BAL), Ren (REN), Uniswap (UNI), yearn.finance (YFI), Loopring (LRC), UMA (UMA) Celo (CGLD), Numeraire (NMR), Band (BAND), Compound (COMP), Maker (MKR) and OmiseGo (OMG), along with supporting additional European and UK order books. Coinbase continues to explore support for new digital assets. Starting immediately, we will begin accepting inbound transfers of AAVE, BNT and SNX to Coinbase Pro. Trading will begin on or after 9AM Pacific Time (PT) Tuesday December 15, if liquidity conditions are met. -
Coinbase Explores Crypto ETF (9/6) Coinbase Spoke to Asset Manager Blackrock About Creating a Crypto ETF, Business Insider Reports
Crypto Week in Review (9/1-9/7) Goldman Sachs CFO Denies Crypto Strategy Shift (9/6) GS CFO Marty Chavez addressed claims from an unsubstantiated report earlier this week that the firm may be delaying previous plans to open a crypto trading desk, calling the report “fake news”. Coinbase Explores Crypto ETF (9/6) Coinbase spoke to asset manager BlackRock about creating a crypto ETF, Business Insider reports. While the current status of the discussions is unclear, BlackRock is said to have “no interest in being a crypto fund issuer,” and SEC approval in the near term remains uncertain. Looking ahead, the Wednesday confirmation of Trump nominee Elad Roisman has the potential to tip the scales towards a more favorable cryptoasset approach. Twitter CEO Comments on Blockchain (9/5) Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, speaking in a congressional hearing, indicated that blockchain technology could prove useful for “distributed trust and distributed enforcement.” The platform, given its struggles with how best to address fraud, harassment, and other misuse, could be a prime testing ground for decentralized identity solutions. Ripio Facilitates Peer-to-Peer Loans (9/5) Ripio began to facilitate blockchain powered peer-to-peer loans, available to wallet users in Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil. The loans, which utilize the Ripple Credit Network (RCN) token, are funded in RCN and dispensed to users in fiat through a network of local partners. Since all details of the loan and payments are recorded on the Ethereum blockchain, the solution could contribute to wider access to credit for the unbanked. IBM’s Payment Protocol Out of Beta (9/4) Blockchain World Wire, a global blockchain based payments network by IBM, is out of beta, CoinDesk reports.