Nakamoto, S. (2008). Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system. https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf outlined an alternative to the current monetary system in which banks are replaced by a peer-to-peer system to issue and transfer digital money: the Bitcoin. While Bitcoin has attracted a substantial investment volume, the system has not achieved the status of a viable alternative monetary system. However, the distributed ledger technology (DLT) underlying the payment system is being applied successfully by financial institutions and is likely to have important implications for the future of money and banking. In this paper we therefore focus on the most advanced distributed ledger application in the financial industry: R3 Corda. This paper is structured as follows. In the first section, we relate the debate about systems of money creation to the rise of Bitcoin. Next, the development of R3 Corda is discussed and the lessons learned for monetary reform. We conclude with an assessment of the scope and likelihood of monetary reform as a consequence of DLT applications by central banks.
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Distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) such as blockchain have in recent years been presented as a new general-purpose technology that could underlie many aspects of social and economic life, including civics and urban governance. In an urban context, over the past few years, a number of actors have started to explore the application of distributed ledgers in amongst others smart city services as well as in blockchain for good and urban commons-projects. DLTs could become the administrative backbones of such projects, as the technology can be set-up as an administration, management and allocation tool for urban resources. With the addition of smart contracts, DLTs can further automate the processing of data and execution of decisions in urban resource management through algorithmic governance. This means that the technological set-up and design of such DLT based systems could have large implications for the ways urban resources are governed. Positive contributions are expected to be made toward (local) democracy, transparent governance, decentralization, and citizen empowerment. We argue that to fully scrutinize the implications for urban governance, a critical analysis of distributed ledger technologies is necessary. In this contribution, we explore the lens of “the city as a license” for such a critical analysis. Through this lens, the city is framed as a “rights-management-system,” operated through DLT technology. Building upon Lefebvrian a right to the city-discourses, such an approach allows to ask important questions about the implications of DLTs for the democratic governance of cities in an open, inclusive urban culture. Through a technological exploration combined with a speculative approach, and guided by our interest in the rights management and agency that blockchains have been claimed to provide to their users, we trace six important issues: quantification; blockchain as a normative apparatus; the complicated relationship between transparency and accountability; the centralizing forces that act on blockchains; the degrees to which algorithmic rules can embed democratic law-making and enforcing; and finally, the limits of blockchain's trustlessness.
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Purpose: The main purpose of this thesis to explore the possible application of blockchain technology in solving issues and concerns of members and stakeholders in multi-stakeholder cooperatives, which prevent effective collaboration in governance.Design: This study is performed using an extensive literature study on blockchain technology, relevant business cases solving issues and concerns comparable to these in multi-stakeholder cooperatives and six semi-structured interviews with blockchain experts, using the business case of multi-stakeholder cooperative Gebiedscoöperatie Westerkwartier.Findings: Findings reveal blockchain-based solutions can contribute to solving existing issues and concerns in multi-stakeholder cooperatives, by implementing its main characteristics: creating transparency, immutability and distributed consensus. This results in increased trust, increased efficiency and accuracy in decision-making, decreased administrative costs due to self-executable smart contracts and enables product traceability in supply chains. However, information is retained in supply chains, preventing blockchain from reaching its full potential. In addition, smart contracts are not legally binding in all countries yet and blockchain, as most technologies, is subject to human or technical error.Value: Overall, this study contributes to understanding issues and concerns existing in multistakeholder cooperatives and the potential application and benefit of blockchain technology to solve existing issues preventing effective collaboration. Expert and participation: Jan Veuger
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