Blockchain Investing
FinTank, Chicago IL, August 24, 2017
Slides: http://slideshare.net/LaBlogga
Blockchain Investing
Economic Implications
Melanie Swan
Philosophy Department, Purdue University
melanie@BlockchainStudies.org
24 August 2017
Blockchain 1
Melanie Swan, Technology Theorist
 Philosophy and Economic Theory, Purdue
University, Indiana, USA
 Founder, Institute for Blockchain Studies
 Singularity University Instructor; Institute for Ethics and
Emerging Technology Affiliate Scholar; EDGE
Essayist; FQXi Advisor
Traditional Markets Background
Economics and Financial
Theory Leadership
New Economies research group
Source: http://www.melanieswan.com, http://blockchainstudies.org/NSNE.pdf, http://blockchainstudies.org/Metaphilosophy_CFP.pdf
https://www.facebook.com/groups/NewEconomies
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Blockchain
2
Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491
 To inspire us to build
this vision of the
world
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Agenda
 Blockchain Investing
 Blockchain Economics
 Blockchain Economic Theory
 Smart Network Convergence
 Blockchain and Deep Learning
3
24 August 2017
Blockchain 4
Blockchain is the tamper-resistant
distributed ledger software underlying
cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, for the
secure transfer of money, assets, and
information via the Internet without a third-
party intermediary
Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491
What is Blockchain/Distributed Ledger Tech?
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Context of the Blockchain Revolution
 Internet all over again
 Blockchain supplies crucial functionality for the
secure transfer of money and assets over
networks that allows the only sectors not yet re-
engineered for the digital era to modernize
 Financial services; Legal and governance services
 Involves money and assets, likely to take longer
 Information Internet: 20-40 years (corporate email)
 Money Internet could take longer (2050-2075)
 More profound impact
 Computationally-based society has much smaller need
for brick-and-mortar institutional footprint
5
Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Blockchain Investment Thesis
6
Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/why-bitcoin-continues-to-be-on-the-top-of-its-game
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Blockchain Investment Thesis
 Market becoming more institutional
 ICO and exchanges: regulated entities
 Cryptocurrency option approval (LedgerX)
 Institutional demand for cryptographic assets
 Institutional exchanges
 Risks
 Too early: infrastructure not ready yet, bubbles; only
invest “black swan” money
 Scalability: Consensus algorithms
7
Source: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/op-ed-blockchain-economy-ushering-new-world-economic-order
24 August 2017
Blockchain
ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings)
 ICO: fundraising method, more liquid than equity
 Conceived as project finance / capital-budgeting solution
 $1.74 bn cumulative ICO funding (Coindesk)
 ICOs 4x size of VC funding 1H2017 (PitchBook)
 ICOs: $1.3 bn, VC funding: $358 mn
8
Source: https://www.coindesk.com/ico-tracker
24 August 2017
Blockchain
High-profile ICOs
 Filecoin; $186 mn, Aug 2017
 Registered (exempt) small offering CoinList (AngelList);
Reg D 506(c)
 Tezos $232 mn, Jul 2017
 Brave, BATs (basic attention tokens), $35 mn, 30
seconds
 Gnosis; $12.5 mn, Apr 2017
 Self-regulating mechanisms
 Known % of money supply in the ICO offering
 Lock-up: No lock-up on ICO founders coins (usually 1
year IPO), could have time-lock-up
9
Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491
24 August 2017
Blockchain
ICO Regulatory Stance
 US: investor protection; must be regulated
 ICOs and exchanges; what about smart contracts?
 Betting as a related example: limited
 ICOs vs token sales (network utility) vs crowdfunding
 Howey Test: is it a security?
1. Investment of money
2. Expectation of profits from the investment
3. The investment of money is in a common enterprise
4. Any profit comes from the efforts of a promoter or third party
 UK: caveat emptor; safer if regulated, not regulated
 Betting as a related example: ubiquitous
 EC, Japan, China, India (currently more open)
10
Source: https://www.coindesk.com/ico-tracker
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Investor demand for cryptographic assets
 Institutional investors must invest in
cryptographic asset classes
 Cryptographic assets: currently valued at
$150 billion, estimated to grow to $2 trillion
over the next 10 years
 Global invested capital market by asset
class must include cryptographic
assets
 Cash, stock, bonds, gold, real estate, crypto
 Cryptographic asset growth could
become tied to general rate of
economic progress (global GDP)
11
Source: https://www.coindesk.com/standpoint-founder-bitcoin-asset-class-will-grow-2-trillion-market/
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Cryptocurrency Options
 NY-based LedgerX CFTC approval
 Provide clearing services for fully collateralized
digital currency swaps
 License to operate as a swap execution facility,
initial plans to clear Bitcoin options
 Clearing house for derivatives contracts settling in
digital currencies
 LedgerX options to trade on the CBOE
 Significance: cryptocurrency derivatives
possibly more accessible and liquid means of
gaining exposure than trading the underlying
cryptocurrencies
12
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-24/bitcoin-options-to-become-available-in-fall-after-cftc-approval
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Cryptocurrency Market Capitalizations (8/17)
13
Source: https://coinmarketcap.com, http://us.spindices.com/indices/equity/sp-500; List of countries by GDP (nominal) - Wikipedia
 S&P 500: $22.2 tn; US GDP $18.8 tn
 Bitcoin market cap: $68 bn (≃ top 70/200 countries)
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Indirect Cryptographic Asset Exposure
 Default exposure through equity/mutual funds (same
argument as emerging market)
 50% S&P 500 sales from overseas
 S&P internal implementation of foundational technology
like blockchain digital ledgers
14
Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491
 Large cap investing is a
proxy for blockchain
investing
 Free ride the search
problem, vetting, selection
process
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Direct Cryptographic Asset Exposure
15
Source: https://www.slideshare.net/lablogga/the-black-swan-30871838
 Invest “Black Swan” money
 Small percent of portfolio
 Willing to lose
 Convexify (e.g.; manage)
exposure
 Diminish downside
 Maximize upside exposure to
“black swan” rare outsize
returns (VC, movies)
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Institutional Exchanges
 Large liquidity ($20 mn and up)
 Institutional services
 Daily auctions, large-value selling, credit-risk hedging
 Institutional exchanges
 Genesis Trading, Cumberland Mining, Circle, Project Omni,
Gemini Exchange
16
Source: https://www.coindesk.com/state-street-bitcoin-bull-blockchain-boss-leaves-launch-crypto-startup
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Blockchain risks?
ISSUE
17
Regular global technical meetings (Satoshi Roundtable);
vociferous debate/proposals (democratic power struggle)
PoW: not scalable, PoS: validator model too complicated
Cybersecurity Hacks
Mt Gox, Ethereum DAO, Bitfinex
Silk Road, drug dealers,
terrorists, criminals
Scalability
Block size, Consensus method
Mining Centralization
51% Attack
RESPONSE
Temporary; mining is collusive; attack unsustainable, cannot
steal coins, confirm transactions or change protocols
Building resilient system constantly under open
attack 24/7 (remember early Internet DNS attacks)
Blockchains are a universal technology available to
all; non-criminal activity predominates
PoW: Proof of Work (mining), PoS: Proof of Stake (validated voting) – mechanisms for establishing ledger state consensus
Early Internet: “this will never scale, insecure, not resilient;” Yahoo, AltaVista down for days due to DNS attacks
Technology Risk
Perception Risk
Regulatory Risk, Economic Risk
Government regulation,
bans; Exchange rules
Governments modernizing economic infrastructure
with blockchains too; licensing, open dialogue
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Two big investment risks
 Too early, cart before the horse
 Blockchain network infrastructure is
immature
 Same lesson as 90s dotcom boom:
Webvan, Dogster: too early
 Network economy models require the
network to be in place to obtain network
benefits
 Technical/scalability risk re:
consensus algorithm
 Achieve Visa-scale transaction
processing (2000/second) needs
alternative consensus mechanism
18
Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Infrastructure Risk
Blockchain Network Infrastructure Immature
19
Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491
TCP/IP Blockchain
AppsAppsApplication Layer
Protocol Layer
 Issue: no one wants to fund basic infrastructure build-
out, but “shiny new” network apps will fail without it
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Scalability Risk
Bitcoin vs. other payment networks
20
Source: Statista / Coinmetrics, http://www.altcointoday.com/bitcoin-ethereum-vs-visa-paypal-transactions-per-second
1,667
7
Average daily transaction volume ($US mn)
Average
transaction
volume per
second
 Visa: 2,000 transactions/sec; Bitcoin: 7/sec
 Visa: $18bn/day; Bitcoin: $300mn/day
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Scalability Risk
Consensus Algorithms (BFT)
 Proof of Work
 Bitcoin blockchain
 Proof of Stake
 Ethereum, Tezos, DFINITY, Tendermint/Cosmos, Stellar
 Complicated scheme of tiered voting by staked participants
 Issue: recreation of human-based power structures, is not a
computational Searle’s Chinese Room
 Other solutions
 IOTA Tango automata
 Proof of Computational Completeness
 Complexity-complete computational entropy
 Brownian motion and Crutchfield’s statistical complexity measure
 Using network entropy-generation to solve BAP
21
Source: BFT; Byzantine fault tolerance; https://www.slideshare.net/lablogga/blockchain-consensus-protocols
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Agenda
 Blockchain Investing
 Blockchain Economics
 Blockchain Economic Theory
 Smart Network Convergence
 Blockchain and Deep Learning
22
24 August 2017
Blockchain
New Economic World Order
23
Source: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/op-ed-blockchain-economy-ushering-new-world-economic-order
 Not just cryptofinance, multiple sectors of the digital
economy: storage, banking, healthcare, financial
services, technology platform companies, fundraising
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Smart Network Thesis
Two fundamental eras of network computing
24
Source: Expanded from Mark Sigal, http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/10/post-pc-revolution.html
I. Transfer Information II. Transfer Value
6 7
2020s 2030s
Simple networks Smart networks
 Pushing more and more complexity through the global
Internet pipes
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Scalability and Financial Inclusion
 Hierarchy does not scale
 Next leap-frog tech: fintech
 Like cell phones vs. POTS, it
does not make sense to build
out brick-and-mortar banks in a
world of digital finance
 Decentralized networks +
digital finance = the power of
the printing press in banking,
credit, and money
 Access to credit and financial
services as a basic human right
(2 billion under-banked)
25
Source: POTS: Plain Old Telephone Service, http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Long-tail economics and governance
 One size does not fit all
 Any two parties can meet and transact on the blockchain
26
Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491
One size
fits all
Personalized
Long-tail Systems
 Long-tail economics
 “Amazon or eBay of money”
 Personalized banking, credit,
mortgages, securities
 Long-tail governance
 “Amazon or eBay of government”
 Personalized governance
services, pay for consumption
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Personalized
governance
services
Crypto-enlightenment
27
“One ought to think autonomously,
free of the dictates of external
authority” - Immanuel Kant
Kant, I. "Answering the Question: What Is Enlightenment?" (German: Beantwortung der Frage: Was ist Aufklärung?). 1784.
Hayek, F. The De Nationalization of Money. 1976. (paraphrased)
“Multiple private currencies should
compete for customer business”
- Friedreich Hayek
Personalized
economic
services
24 August 2017
Blockchain 28
Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491
Blockchain: Fintech and beyond
AssetsImmediate
cash transfer
Applications
Payments
Money
Remittance
Financial
instruments
Unified ledger
Mortgages, loans
Titling: house, auto
Inventory
Commercial trade
Payments
Financial
Services
Logistics &
Supply Chain
Energy, IoT
Healthcare
Government
Humanitarian
Non-profit
Industry adoption
Time
Complexity
Stocks, bonds
Goods transfer
Assurance, provenance
Identity
Driver’s License
Passport, Visa
Contracts
Registries
Marriage licenses
Public Documents
Birth/death registries
BoL, Forfeiting
Insurance
Cash Smart Assets Smart Contracts
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Agenda
 Blockchain Investing
 Blockchain Economics
 Blockchain Economic Theory
 Smart Network Convergence
 Blockchain and Deep Learning
29
24 August 2017
Blockchain 30
Better horse AND new car
New Technology
24 August 2017
Blockchain 31
Smart networks are computing networks with
intelligence built in such that identification
and transfer is performed by the network
itself through protocols that automatically
identify (deep learning), and validate,
confirm, and route transactions (blockchain)
within the network
Smart Network Convergence Theory
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Smart Network Convergence Theory
 Network intelligence “baked in” to smart networks
 Deep Learning algorithms for predictive identification
 Blockchains to transfer value, confirm authenticity
32
Source: Expanded from Mark Sigal, http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/10/post-pc-revolution.html
Two Fundamental Eras of Network Computing
24 August 2017
Blockchain 33
Conceptual Definition:
Deep learning is a computer program that can
identify what something is
Technical Definition:
Deep learning is a class of machine learning
algorithms in the form of a neural network that
uses a cascade of layers (tiers) of processing
units to extract features from data and make
predictive guesses about new data
Source: https://www.slideshare.net/lablogga/deep-learning-explained
What is Deep Learning?
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Next Phase
 Put Deep Learning systems on the Internet
 Deep Learning Blockchain Networks
 Combine Deep Learning and Blockchain Technology
 Blockchain offers secure audit ledger of activity
 Advanced computational infrastructure to tackle
larger-scale problems
 Genomic disease, protein modeling, energy storage,
global financial risk assessment, voting, astronomical data
34
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Deep Learning Chains
Example: Autonomous Driving
 Requires the smart network functionality
of deep learning and blockchain
 Deep Learning: identify what things are
 Convolutional neural nets core element of
machine vision system
 Blockchain: secure automation
technology
 Track arbitrarily-many fleet units
 Legal accountability
 Software upgrades
 Remuneration
35
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Agenda
 Blockchain Investing
 Blockchain Economics
 Smart Network Convergence
 Blockchain and Deep Learning
36
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Blockchain Strategies
Leadership Edge
 Start or join industry consortium
 Implement digital ledgers
 Automate transfer of money, assets, bids,
quotes, RFPs, ERP, supply chain
 Value chain process mapping
 Revenue-generating
 Offer blockchain-based services to clients
 Example: banks targeting larger customer base
through blockchain-based eWallet solutions
 Cost-saving
 Finance, treasury, accounting, GL/AR/AP
 Quality assurance, regulation, compliance,
audit
37
Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491
24 August 2017
Blockchain 38
Source: http://futurememes.blogspot.com/2016/10/blockchain-fintech-programmable-risk.html
Stock Transaction
Real Estate Purchase/Sale
Health Insurance Billing
2. Steps that can be automated with blockchain
1. Steps with human decision-making
Energy Contract
International Trade Shipment
 Reengineering economics and governance
 Any complex transaction has two kinds of activities
Blockchain automation economy
Economics Governance
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Conclusion
 Blockchain is a fundamental IT for
secure value transfer over networks
 For any asset registered in a cryptographic
ledger, the whole Internet is a VPN for its
confirmation, assurity, and transfer
 Reinvent economics and governance
for the digital age
 Long-tail structure of digital networks
allows personalized economic and
governance services
 Smartnetworks are a new form of
automated global infrastructure for
large-scale next-generation projects
39
Personalized
Long-tail Systems
One size
fits all
IT: Information Technology
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Conclusion
 Next-generation global infrastructure:
Deep Learning Blockchain Networks
merging deep learning systems and
blockchain technology
 Smart Network Convergence Theory:
pushing more complexity and
automation through Internet pipes
 Blockchain Deep Learning nets: Ability to
identify what something is (machine
learning) and securely verify and transact it
(blockchain)
40
Blockchain Investing
FinTank, Chicago IL, August 24, 2017
Slides: http://slideshare.net/LaBlogga
Blockchain Investing
Smartnetworks and the Blockchain Economy
Melanie Swan
Philosophy Department, Purdue University
melanie@BlockchainStudies.org
Thank you! Questions?
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Agenda
 Technical Overview
 What is Bitcoin Mining?
42
24 August 2017
Blockchain
How does blockchain work?
43
 eWallet app: holds keys, not money
 Using PKI (public key infrastructure): electronic wallet
software issues a public-private key pair (public address is a
32-character alphanumeric code)
 Scan public address (QR Code) & submit transaction
 Private key confirms access and funds availability,
transaction validated and posted to blockchain
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Why is it called blockchain?
Ledger (chain) of sequential transaction blocks
 Each new block starts by calling the last block, so a
cryptographic chain of transactions is created
 Every 10 minutes, the latest block of submitted
transactions is validated (by cryptographic mining) and
posted to a single distributed ledger
44
Source: Satoshi Nakamoto whitepaper: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf, https://blockexplorer.com
Block 10 Block 11 Block 12
24 August 2017
Blockchain
How robust is the p2p software network?
45
p2p: peer to peer; Source: https://bitnodes.21.co, https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin
 7340 Global Nodes running full Bitcoind (6/17); 100 gb
Run the software yourself:
24 August 2017
Blockchain
What is Bitcoin mining?
46
 Mining is the software-based accounting
function to record transactions, fee-based
 Mining hardware/software “finds new blocks”
 Network regularly issues random 32-bit nonces
(numbers) per specified cryptographic parameters
 Mining software constantly makes nonce guesses
 At the rate of 2^32 (4 billion) hashes (guesses)/second
 One machine at random guesses the 32-bit nonce
 Winning machine confirms and records the
transactions, and collects the rewards
 All nodes confirm and append the new block of
transactions to their copy of the distributed ledger
 “Wasteful” effort deters malicious players
Sample
code:
Run the software yourself:
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Scalability
 Transactions/block: 400 (2014) vs 2,000 (2017)
 Current Bitcoin block size limit: 1 mb
 Change proposals
 SegWit (Segregated Witness): 2-4 mb
 Emergent Consensus / Bitcoin Unlimited: no limit
 (Former): BIP 100 (adjustable block size), BIP 101 (8 mb)
 Second-layer solutions: batch posting to blockchain
 Factom, Storj, Lightening Network
 Democracy: 5 constituencies decide
 Developers, miners, exchanges, wallets, merchants
47
Segregated Witness: move non-critical “witness” data off the blockchain; BIP: Bitcoin Improvement Proposal
Source: http://www.coindesk.com/data/bitcoin-number-transactions-per-block
Bitcoin
transactions
per block
(https://coin.dance/blocks)
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Agenda
 Distributed Ledger Applications
48
24 August 2017
Blockchain 49
 Secure information exchange
 Asset confirmation and transfer
 Automated coordination
 Example: fleet management of drones,
autonomous driving, robotics, clinical trial
patients, cellular therapeutics
 Blockchain: automated, secure
coordination system with remuneration
and tracking
Key blockchain functionality
Source: Swan, M. Philosophy of Social Robotics: Abundance Economics. Sociorobotics, 2016.
http://www.melanieswan.com/documents/SocialRobotics.pdf.
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Financial services
 Shared ledger
 Instantaneous transaction
validation (t=0, not t+3)
 Settlement, clearing,
 Custody, insurance
 Secure, lower risk, cheaper
 Financial assurity
 Securities asset registries
 Automated clearing
 Quoting, deal placement
 Billing, settlement
50
Source: https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/financial-services-corporate-blockchain-investments
Shared Ledger
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Supply chain and logistics
 Asset transfer and customs clearing
 Provenance, assurance, release
 Inventory management
 Custody, insurance, damage
 Automated tracking and notification
 Pallets, trailers, containers
 Trade finance and documentation
 Track purchase orders, change orders,
receipts, shipment notifications
 Custody and product certification
 Link physical goods to serial numbers,
bar codes, RFID tags
51
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Energy
 Blockchain energy projects
 Enerchain: trading (NE Europe)
 BTL Interbit blockchain energy
platform: trading (Vancouver CA)
 PONTON: DSO, TSO, aggregator,
generation power-balancing (Austria)
 Automatic markets
 “Energy Internet” - smart buildings
on regional energy smartgrids
 Smart resource self-pricing
 Load-balancing
 Source fungibility: wind, solar power
 Energy price and trade validation
52
Sources: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2079334-blockchain-based-microgrid-gives-power-to-consumers-in-new-york,
https://enerchain.ponton.de/index.php/16-gridchain-blockchain-based-process-integration-for-the-smart-grids-of-the-future
24 August 2017
Blockchain
 EMR (electronic medical record)
 Personal health records
 Users key-permission doctors to records
 Digital health wallet
 Identity + EMR + health insurance + payment
 Health insurance billing chains
 Automated claims processing
 Price-quoting for medical services
 Health Data Research Commons
 Biobanks, QS (DNA.bits), genome files
53
Source: http://futurememes.blogspot.fr/2014/09/blockchain-health-remunerative-health.html
Healthcare
Digital health wallet
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Politics: governance services
54
 Blockchain weddings (Bitcoin, Ethereum)
 Public document registries
 Titling Registries
 Local government RFPs for home, auto, land
 Legal services: register and attest
 Contracts, IP, agreements, wills registries
 Proof of Existence: hash + timestamp + blockchain record
 Voting
 Quadratic voting (interest), PageRank (relevance)
 Delegative democracy, random sample elections
 Opt-in personalized governance services
 Composting vs education
Sources: http://merkle.com/papers/DAOdemocracyDraft.pdf, http://www.proofofexistence.com/, https://bitnation.co/ , World’s First
Blockchain Marriage: David Mondrus and Joyce Bayo, 10/5/14, ConsenSys wedding : Kim Jackson and Zach LeBeau, 11/2/15
24 August 2017
Blockchain
Humanitarian
 Refugee identity system
 Phone access: smartphone eWallet, SMS
 Object access: card, paper wallet, pendant,
ring, keychain, tattoo, implantable chip
 Biometric access: word phrase, fingerprint,
iris, facial scan
 Financial inclusion, access to learning
 Smart contracts for literacy
 Bitcoin MOOCs “Kiva for literacy”
 Open-source FICO scores
 Decentralized credit bureaus
 Remittance, blockchain-tracked aid
55

Blockchain Investing: Economics Implications of Distributed Ledgers

  • 1.
    Blockchain Investing FinTank, ChicagoIL, August 24, 2017 Slides: http://slideshare.net/LaBlogga Blockchain Investing Economic Implications Melanie Swan Philosophy Department, Purdue University melanie@BlockchainStudies.org
  • 2.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain1 Melanie Swan, Technology Theorist  Philosophy and Economic Theory, Purdue University, Indiana, USA  Founder, Institute for Blockchain Studies  Singularity University Instructor; Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technology Affiliate Scholar; EDGE Essayist; FQXi Advisor Traditional Markets Background Economics and Financial Theory Leadership New Economies research group Source: http://www.melanieswan.com, http://blockchainstudies.org/NSNE.pdf, http://blockchainstudies.org/Metaphilosophy_CFP.pdf https://www.facebook.com/groups/NewEconomies
  • 3.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Blockchain 2 Source:http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491  To inspire us to build this vision of the world
  • 4.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Agenda Blockchain Investing  Blockchain Economics  Blockchain Economic Theory  Smart Network Convergence  Blockchain and Deep Learning 3
  • 5.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain4 Blockchain is the tamper-resistant distributed ledger software underlying cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, for the secure transfer of money, assets, and information via the Internet without a third- party intermediary Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491 What is Blockchain/Distributed Ledger Tech?
  • 6.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Contextof the Blockchain Revolution  Internet all over again  Blockchain supplies crucial functionality for the secure transfer of money and assets over networks that allows the only sectors not yet re- engineered for the digital era to modernize  Financial services; Legal and governance services  Involves money and assets, likely to take longer  Information Internet: 20-40 years (corporate email)  Money Internet could take longer (2050-2075)  More profound impact  Computationally-based society has much smaller need for brick-and-mortar institutional footprint 5 Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491
  • 7.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain BlockchainInvestment Thesis 6 Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/why-bitcoin-continues-to-be-on-the-top-of-its-game
  • 8.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain BlockchainInvestment Thesis  Market becoming more institutional  ICO and exchanges: regulated entities  Cryptocurrency option approval (LedgerX)  Institutional demand for cryptographic assets  Institutional exchanges  Risks  Too early: infrastructure not ready yet, bubbles; only invest “black swan” money  Scalability: Consensus algorithms 7 Source: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/op-ed-blockchain-economy-ushering-new-world-economic-order
  • 9.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain ICOs(Initial Coin Offerings)  ICO: fundraising method, more liquid than equity  Conceived as project finance / capital-budgeting solution  $1.74 bn cumulative ICO funding (Coindesk)  ICOs 4x size of VC funding 1H2017 (PitchBook)  ICOs: $1.3 bn, VC funding: $358 mn 8 Source: https://www.coindesk.com/ico-tracker
  • 10.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain High-profileICOs  Filecoin; $186 mn, Aug 2017  Registered (exempt) small offering CoinList (AngelList); Reg D 506(c)  Tezos $232 mn, Jul 2017  Brave, BATs (basic attention tokens), $35 mn, 30 seconds  Gnosis; $12.5 mn, Apr 2017  Self-regulating mechanisms  Known % of money supply in the ICO offering  Lock-up: No lock-up on ICO founders coins (usually 1 year IPO), could have time-lock-up 9 Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491
  • 11.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain ICORegulatory Stance  US: investor protection; must be regulated  ICOs and exchanges; what about smart contracts?  Betting as a related example: limited  ICOs vs token sales (network utility) vs crowdfunding  Howey Test: is it a security? 1. Investment of money 2. Expectation of profits from the investment 3. The investment of money is in a common enterprise 4. Any profit comes from the efforts of a promoter or third party  UK: caveat emptor; safer if regulated, not regulated  Betting as a related example: ubiquitous  EC, Japan, China, India (currently more open) 10 Source: https://www.coindesk.com/ico-tracker
  • 12.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Investordemand for cryptographic assets  Institutional investors must invest in cryptographic asset classes  Cryptographic assets: currently valued at $150 billion, estimated to grow to $2 trillion over the next 10 years  Global invested capital market by asset class must include cryptographic assets  Cash, stock, bonds, gold, real estate, crypto  Cryptographic asset growth could become tied to general rate of economic progress (global GDP) 11 Source: https://www.coindesk.com/standpoint-founder-bitcoin-asset-class-will-grow-2-trillion-market/
  • 13.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain CryptocurrencyOptions  NY-based LedgerX CFTC approval  Provide clearing services for fully collateralized digital currency swaps  License to operate as a swap execution facility, initial plans to clear Bitcoin options  Clearing house for derivatives contracts settling in digital currencies  LedgerX options to trade on the CBOE  Significance: cryptocurrency derivatives possibly more accessible and liquid means of gaining exposure than trading the underlying cryptocurrencies 12 Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-24/bitcoin-options-to-become-available-in-fall-after-cftc-approval
  • 14.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain CryptocurrencyMarket Capitalizations (8/17) 13 Source: https://coinmarketcap.com, http://us.spindices.com/indices/equity/sp-500; List of countries by GDP (nominal) - Wikipedia  S&P 500: $22.2 tn; US GDP $18.8 tn  Bitcoin market cap: $68 bn (≃ top 70/200 countries)
  • 15.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain IndirectCryptographic Asset Exposure  Default exposure through equity/mutual funds (same argument as emerging market)  50% S&P 500 sales from overseas  S&P internal implementation of foundational technology like blockchain digital ledgers 14 Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491  Large cap investing is a proxy for blockchain investing  Free ride the search problem, vetting, selection process
  • 16.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain DirectCryptographic Asset Exposure 15 Source: https://www.slideshare.net/lablogga/the-black-swan-30871838  Invest “Black Swan” money  Small percent of portfolio  Willing to lose  Convexify (e.g.; manage) exposure  Diminish downside  Maximize upside exposure to “black swan” rare outsize returns (VC, movies)
  • 17.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain InstitutionalExchanges  Large liquidity ($20 mn and up)  Institutional services  Daily auctions, large-value selling, credit-risk hedging  Institutional exchanges  Genesis Trading, Cumberland Mining, Circle, Project Omni, Gemini Exchange 16 Source: https://www.coindesk.com/state-street-bitcoin-bull-blockchain-boss-leaves-launch-crypto-startup
  • 18.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Blockchainrisks? ISSUE 17 Regular global technical meetings (Satoshi Roundtable); vociferous debate/proposals (democratic power struggle) PoW: not scalable, PoS: validator model too complicated Cybersecurity Hacks Mt Gox, Ethereum DAO, Bitfinex Silk Road, drug dealers, terrorists, criminals Scalability Block size, Consensus method Mining Centralization 51% Attack RESPONSE Temporary; mining is collusive; attack unsustainable, cannot steal coins, confirm transactions or change protocols Building resilient system constantly under open attack 24/7 (remember early Internet DNS attacks) Blockchains are a universal technology available to all; non-criminal activity predominates PoW: Proof of Work (mining), PoS: Proof of Stake (validated voting) – mechanisms for establishing ledger state consensus Early Internet: “this will never scale, insecure, not resilient;” Yahoo, AltaVista down for days due to DNS attacks Technology Risk Perception Risk Regulatory Risk, Economic Risk Government regulation, bans; Exchange rules Governments modernizing economic infrastructure with blockchains too; licensing, open dialogue
  • 19.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Twobig investment risks  Too early, cart before the horse  Blockchain network infrastructure is immature  Same lesson as 90s dotcom boom: Webvan, Dogster: too early  Network economy models require the network to be in place to obtain network benefits  Technical/scalability risk re: consensus algorithm  Achieve Visa-scale transaction processing (2000/second) needs alternative consensus mechanism 18 Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491
  • 20.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain InfrastructureRisk Blockchain Network Infrastructure Immature 19 Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491 TCP/IP Blockchain AppsAppsApplication Layer Protocol Layer  Issue: no one wants to fund basic infrastructure build- out, but “shiny new” network apps will fail without it
  • 21.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain ScalabilityRisk Bitcoin vs. other payment networks 20 Source: Statista / Coinmetrics, http://www.altcointoday.com/bitcoin-ethereum-vs-visa-paypal-transactions-per-second 1,667 7 Average daily transaction volume ($US mn) Average transaction volume per second  Visa: 2,000 transactions/sec; Bitcoin: 7/sec  Visa: $18bn/day; Bitcoin: $300mn/day
  • 22.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain ScalabilityRisk Consensus Algorithms (BFT)  Proof of Work  Bitcoin blockchain  Proof of Stake  Ethereum, Tezos, DFINITY, Tendermint/Cosmos, Stellar  Complicated scheme of tiered voting by staked participants  Issue: recreation of human-based power structures, is not a computational Searle’s Chinese Room  Other solutions  IOTA Tango automata  Proof of Computational Completeness  Complexity-complete computational entropy  Brownian motion and Crutchfield’s statistical complexity measure  Using network entropy-generation to solve BAP 21 Source: BFT; Byzantine fault tolerance; https://www.slideshare.net/lablogga/blockchain-consensus-protocols
  • 23.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Agenda Blockchain Investing  Blockchain Economics  Blockchain Economic Theory  Smart Network Convergence  Blockchain and Deep Learning 22
  • 24.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain NewEconomic World Order 23 Source: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/op-ed-blockchain-economy-ushering-new-world-economic-order  Not just cryptofinance, multiple sectors of the digital economy: storage, banking, healthcare, financial services, technology platform companies, fundraising
  • 25.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain SmartNetwork Thesis Two fundamental eras of network computing 24 Source: Expanded from Mark Sigal, http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/10/post-pc-revolution.html I. Transfer Information II. Transfer Value 6 7 2020s 2030s Simple networks Smart networks  Pushing more and more complexity through the global Internet pipes
  • 26.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Scalabilityand Financial Inclusion  Hierarchy does not scale  Next leap-frog tech: fintech  Like cell phones vs. POTS, it does not make sense to build out brick-and-mortar banks in a world of digital finance  Decentralized networks + digital finance = the power of the printing press in banking, credit, and money  Access to credit and financial services as a basic human right (2 billion under-banked) 25 Source: POTS: Plain Old Telephone Service, http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491
  • 27.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Long-taileconomics and governance  One size does not fit all  Any two parties can meet and transact on the blockchain 26 Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491 One size fits all Personalized Long-tail Systems  Long-tail economics  “Amazon or eBay of money”  Personalized banking, credit, mortgages, securities  Long-tail governance  “Amazon or eBay of government”  Personalized governance services, pay for consumption
  • 28.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Personalized governance services Crypto-enlightenment 27 “Oneought to think autonomously, free of the dictates of external authority” - Immanuel Kant Kant, I. "Answering the Question: What Is Enlightenment?" (German: Beantwortung der Frage: Was ist Aufklärung?). 1784. Hayek, F. The De Nationalization of Money. 1976. (paraphrased) “Multiple private currencies should compete for customer business” - Friedreich Hayek Personalized economic services
  • 29.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain28 Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491 Blockchain: Fintech and beyond AssetsImmediate cash transfer Applications Payments Money Remittance Financial instruments Unified ledger Mortgages, loans Titling: house, auto Inventory Commercial trade Payments Financial Services Logistics & Supply Chain Energy, IoT Healthcare Government Humanitarian Non-profit Industry adoption Time Complexity Stocks, bonds Goods transfer Assurance, provenance Identity Driver’s License Passport, Visa Contracts Registries Marriage licenses Public Documents Birth/death registries BoL, Forfeiting Insurance Cash Smart Assets Smart Contracts
  • 30.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Agenda Blockchain Investing  Blockchain Economics  Blockchain Economic Theory  Smart Network Convergence  Blockchain and Deep Learning 29
  • 31.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain30 Better horse AND new car New Technology
  • 32.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain31 Smart networks are computing networks with intelligence built in such that identification and transfer is performed by the network itself through protocols that automatically identify (deep learning), and validate, confirm, and route transactions (blockchain) within the network Smart Network Convergence Theory
  • 33.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain SmartNetwork Convergence Theory  Network intelligence “baked in” to smart networks  Deep Learning algorithms for predictive identification  Blockchains to transfer value, confirm authenticity 32 Source: Expanded from Mark Sigal, http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/10/post-pc-revolution.html Two Fundamental Eras of Network Computing
  • 34.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain33 Conceptual Definition: Deep learning is a computer program that can identify what something is Technical Definition: Deep learning is a class of machine learning algorithms in the form of a neural network that uses a cascade of layers (tiers) of processing units to extract features from data and make predictive guesses about new data Source: https://www.slideshare.net/lablogga/deep-learning-explained What is Deep Learning?
  • 35.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain NextPhase  Put Deep Learning systems on the Internet  Deep Learning Blockchain Networks  Combine Deep Learning and Blockchain Technology  Blockchain offers secure audit ledger of activity  Advanced computational infrastructure to tackle larger-scale problems  Genomic disease, protein modeling, energy storage, global financial risk assessment, voting, astronomical data 34
  • 36.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain DeepLearning Chains Example: Autonomous Driving  Requires the smart network functionality of deep learning and blockchain  Deep Learning: identify what things are  Convolutional neural nets core element of machine vision system  Blockchain: secure automation technology  Track arbitrarily-many fleet units  Legal accountability  Software upgrades  Remuneration 35
  • 37.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Agenda Blockchain Investing  Blockchain Economics  Smart Network Convergence  Blockchain and Deep Learning 36
  • 38.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain BlockchainStrategies Leadership Edge  Start or join industry consortium  Implement digital ledgers  Automate transfer of money, assets, bids, quotes, RFPs, ERP, supply chain  Value chain process mapping  Revenue-generating  Offer blockchain-based services to clients  Example: banks targeting larger customer base through blockchain-based eWallet solutions  Cost-saving  Finance, treasury, accounting, GL/AR/AP  Quality assurance, regulation, compliance, audit 37 Source: http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Blueprint-New-World-Currency/dp/1491920491
  • 39.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain38 Source: http://futurememes.blogspot.com/2016/10/blockchain-fintech-programmable-risk.html Stock Transaction Real Estate Purchase/Sale Health Insurance Billing 2. Steps that can be automated with blockchain 1. Steps with human decision-making Energy Contract International Trade Shipment  Reengineering economics and governance  Any complex transaction has two kinds of activities Blockchain automation economy Economics Governance
  • 40.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Conclusion Blockchain is a fundamental IT for secure value transfer over networks  For any asset registered in a cryptographic ledger, the whole Internet is a VPN for its confirmation, assurity, and transfer  Reinvent economics and governance for the digital age  Long-tail structure of digital networks allows personalized economic and governance services  Smartnetworks are a new form of automated global infrastructure for large-scale next-generation projects 39 Personalized Long-tail Systems One size fits all IT: Information Technology
  • 41.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Conclusion Next-generation global infrastructure: Deep Learning Blockchain Networks merging deep learning systems and blockchain technology  Smart Network Convergence Theory: pushing more complexity and automation through Internet pipes  Blockchain Deep Learning nets: Ability to identify what something is (machine learning) and securely verify and transact it (blockchain) 40
  • 42.
    Blockchain Investing FinTank, ChicagoIL, August 24, 2017 Slides: http://slideshare.net/LaBlogga Blockchain Investing Smartnetworks and the Blockchain Economy Melanie Swan Philosophy Department, Purdue University melanie@BlockchainStudies.org Thank you! Questions?
  • 43.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Agenda Technical Overview  What is Bitcoin Mining? 42
  • 44.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Howdoes blockchain work? 43  eWallet app: holds keys, not money  Using PKI (public key infrastructure): electronic wallet software issues a public-private key pair (public address is a 32-character alphanumeric code)  Scan public address (QR Code) & submit transaction  Private key confirms access and funds availability, transaction validated and posted to blockchain
  • 45.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Whyis it called blockchain? Ledger (chain) of sequential transaction blocks  Each new block starts by calling the last block, so a cryptographic chain of transactions is created  Every 10 minutes, the latest block of submitted transactions is validated (by cryptographic mining) and posted to a single distributed ledger 44 Source: Satoshi Nakamoto whitepaper: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf, https://blockexplorer.com Block 10 Block 11 Block 12
  • 46.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Howrobust is the p2p software network? 45 p2p: peer to peer; Source: https://bitnodes.21.co, https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin  7340 Global Nodes running full Bitcoind (6/17); 100 gb Run the software yourself:
  • 47.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Whatis Bitcoin mining? 46  Mining is the software-based accounting function to record transactions, fee-based  Mining hardware/software “finds new blocks”  Network regularly issues random 32-bit nonces (numbers) per specified cryptographic parameters  Mining software constantly makes nonce guesses  At the rate of 2^32 (4 billion) hashes (guesses)/second  One machine at random guesses the 32-bit nonce  Winning machine confirms and records the transactions, and collects the rewards  All nodes confirm and append the new block of transactions to their copy of the distributed ledger  “Wasteful” effort deters malicious players Sample code: Run the software yourself:
  • 48.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Scalability Transactions/block: 400 (2014) vs 2,000 (2017)  Current Bitcoin block size limit: 1 mb  Change proposals  SegWit (Segregated Witness): 2-4 mb  Emergent Consensus / Bitcoin Unlimited: no limit  (Former): BIP 100 (adjustable block size), BIP 101 (8 mb)  Second-layer solutions: batch posting to blockchain  Factom, Storj, Lightening Network  Democracy: 5 constituencies decide  Developers, miners, exchanges, wallets, merchants 47 Segregated Witness: move non-critical “witness” data off the blockchain; BIP: Bitcoin Improvement Proposal Source: http://www.coindesk.com/data/bitcoin-number-transactions-per-block Bitcoin transactions per block (https://coin.dance/blocks)
  • 49.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Agenda Distributed Ledger Applications 48
  • 50.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain49  Secure information exchange  Asset confirmation and transfer  Automated coordination  Example: fleet management of drones, autonomous driving, robotics, clinical trial patients, cellular therapeutics  Blockchain: automated, secure coordination system with remuneration and tracking Key blockchain functionality Source: Swan, M. Philosophy of Social Robotics: Abundance Economics. Sociorobotics, 2016. http://www.melanieswan.com/documents/SocialRobotics.pdf.
  • 51.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Financialservices  Shared ledger  Instantaneous transaction validation (t=0, not t+3)  Settlement, clearing,  Custody, insurance  Secure, lower risk, cheaper  Financial assurity  Securities asset registries  Automated clearing  Quoting, deal placement  Billing, settlement 50 Source: https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/financial-services-corporate-blockchain-investments Shared Ledger
  • 52.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Supplychain and logistics  Asset transfer and customs clearing  Provenance, assurance, release  Inventory management  Custody, insurance, damage  Automated tracking and notification  Pallets, trailers, containers  Trade finance and documentation  Track purchase orders, change orders, receipts, shipment notifications  Custody and product certification  Link physical goods to serial numbers, bar codes, RFID tags 51
  • 53.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Energy Blockchain energy projects  Enerchain: trading (NE Europe)  BTL Interbit blockchain energy platform: trading (Vancouver CA)  PONTON: DSO, TSO, aggregator, generation power-balancing (Austria)  Automatic markets  “Energy Internet” - smart buildings on regional energy smartgrids  Smart resource self-pricing  Load-balancing  Source fungibility: wind, solar power  Energy price and trade validation 52 Sources: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2079334-blockchain-based-microgrid-gives-power-to-consumers-in-new-york, https://enerchain.ponton.de/index.php/16-gridchain-blockchain-based-process-integration-for-the-smart-grids-of-the-future
  • 54.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain EMR (electronic medical record)  Personal health records  Users key-permission doctors to records  Digital health wallet  Identity + EMR + health insurance + payment  Health insurance billing chains  Automated claims processing  Price-quoting for medical services  Health Data Research Commons  Biobanks, QS (DNA.bits), genome files 53 Source: http://futurememes.blogspot.fr/2014/09/blockchain-health-remunerative-health.html Healthcare Digital health wallet
  • 55.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Politics:governance services 54  Blockchain weddings (Bitcoin, Ethereum)  Public document registries  Titling Registries  Local government RFPs for home, auto, land  Legal services: register and attest  Contracts, IP, agreements, wills registries  Proof of Existence: hash + timestamp + blockchain record  Voting  Quadratic voting (interest), PageRank (relevance)  Delegative democracy, random sample elections  Opt-in personalized governance services  Composting vs education Sources: http://merkle.com/papers/DAOdemocracyDraft.pdf, http://www.proofofexistence.com/, https://bitnation.co/ , World’s First Blockchain Marriage: David Mondrus and Joyce Bayo, 10/5/14, ConsenSys wedding : Kim Jackson and Zach LeBeau, 11/2/15
  • 56.
    24 August 2017 Blockchain Humanitarian Refugee identity system  Phone access: smartphone eWallet, SMS  Object access: card, paper wallet, pendant, ring, keychain, tattoo, implantable chip  Biometric access: word phrase, fingerprint, iris, facial scan  Financial inclusion, access to learning  Smart contracts for literacy  Bitcoin MOOCs “Kiva for literacy”  Open-source FICO scores  Decentralized credit bureaus  Remittance, blockchain-tracked aid 55