1. Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance
CAMBRIDGE
CENTRE FOR
ALTERNATIVE
FINANCE
Dr Garrick Hileman
24 September 2016

2. 2
§ Established in January 2015 at the University of Cambridge
§ Dedicated to the study of new financial instruments, channels and
systems that emerge outside of the traditional financial services
§ Four core research areas:
I. Peer-to-peer lending
II. Crowdfunding
III. Alternative credit analytics
IV. Blockchain and cryptocurrency
Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF)

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§ Multidisciplinary group of researchers with expertise in
economics, finance, statistics, sociology, international
development, geography and psychology
§ All Directors and most researchers also have industry
experience
§ Currently employ 8 research staff, plus 10+ student research
assistants and interns
Our People

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§ Master of Finance
§ elective course featured first UK
university blockchain course
§ Executive Education
§ Half-day Alternative Finance modules via
Cambridge Judge Executive Education
§ Developing a 2-day programme to be
offered beginning of 2017
Teaching at the Judge Business School

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§ $3 million in funding to date
§ Primarily grants provided by corporate partners and foundations
§ Funders include: CME Group Foundation, VISA, KPMG, EY,
ACCA, Inter-American Development Bank, Business
Development Bank of Canada, Association of Certified Chartered
Accountants, UK Gov’t (DECC & DFID), DFC Global, Experian
Funding

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• UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) collaboration for ongoing regulatory
impact research
• Inter-American Development Bank funding research analyzing SME
borrower behavior in Chile and Mexico
• Monetary Authority of Singapore International Technology Advisory Panel
• UK DFID has commissioned the CCAF to assess the current state alternative
finance regulation in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania
Increasing share of public funding from research bodies, government
and multilateral institutions

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Alternative Finance
Benchmarking
Reports
§ Research methods
and data:
• Consumer polls
• Firm survey data
• Qualitative
interviews
• Transaction data
§ Data is anonymized
and aggregated
Research

8. UK, US & China Transaction Volume in 2015 ($USD)
© Robert Wardrop, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance
8
Total Alternative Finance Volume & Growth Rates: 3 Largest Markets

9. 2015 ($USD)
9
© Robert Wardrop, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance
Business vs. Consumer Alternative Finance Lending:
Funding Mix & Growth Rate By Type of Lending

10. Alternative Finance Volume Relative to GDP
GDP per Capita Versus Alternative Finance Volume per Capita in 2015 ($USD)
GDP/Capita
Volume/Capita
(Log)
© Robert Wardrop, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance
10

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• Goal: to collect and analyse non-public ‘off-chain’ data from
distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms
• Data segmented across several dimensions (including use cases,
geography, etc) to inform empirical analysis of patterns and trends
• Research partnerships – to be announced soon
The Cambridge Global Blockchain Benchmarking Study

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• Motivation:
• Successful attack against one
exchange hurts every exchange
• Regulators are becoming increasingly
interested in exchange security
• Industry-wide benchmarking of
practices – helpful to exchanges,
regulators, and customers (current
and future)
• Striking the right balance with survey
questions
Cryptocurrency Exchanges Security Survey
www.research.net/r/QQTMFWM

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So…what’s in it for me? (WIIFM)

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WIIFM (contd.)

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• Gain valuable industry-wide insights
§ Benchmark Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) against peers
§ Are your challenges/priorities the same as your peers?
§ Make your voice heard on key issues
• Benchmarking is an established practice, sign of industry maturity
• Industry self-regulation can reduce external regulation
WIIFM (contd.)

16. Thank You
Dr Garrick Hileman
gh434@cam.ac.uk
www.garrickhileman.com