Opinion


Policy

Why Aren't the Candidates Talking About Digital Currency?

Given the threat to US interests posed by a digital yuan and similar projects, you might think candidates would have positions on the future of money. Not so much.

Image via Shutterstock

Policy

With Central Bank Digital Currencies, States Are Reasserting Power Over Money

Nothing is more centralizing than a state’s control over decentralized technologies like blockchain and cryptocurrency, says law professor and blockchain adviser James Cooper.

Credit: Shutterstock/Dilok Klaisataporn

Policy

How to Stop the Next Quadriga: Make Exchanges Prove Their Reserves

Exchanges sometimes treat depositors' assets like fractional reserves, with disastrous results. Time for regular audits, writes Nic Carter.

Gerald Cotten, difunto CEO de QuadrigaCX, alrededor de 2015.

Markets

Bitcoin, Uncertainty and the Ultimate Narrative

Noelle Acheson looks at how the market turmoil could spill over into politics and what that could mean for bitcoin.

bitcoin price chart coindesk 2 march 2020 2

Finance

Why Enterprise Blockchains Fail: No Economic Incentives

In developing blockchain projects, companies often lack an understanding of the economics of networks, and the path to creating long-term monetization.

Image via Shutterstock

Policy

The States Can't Blockchain

If states want to promote the use of blockchain tech, they need advisors with solid technical understanding of what they're trying to legislate.

The Connecticut State Capitol, in Hartford

Tech

The DeFi 'Flash Loan' Attack That Changed Everything

Flash loan attacks are here to stay and are likely to get more serious. DeFi needs to adapt, says a leading crypto VC.

Supermassive Black Hole, By ESA/Hubble

Finance

Cut the Consensus: You Can't Run a Business Like a Blockchain

What works for the technical realm of blockchains does not automatically translate to the running of businesses or social organizations.

William Mougayar

Finance

Software Ate the World, Here's How It Eats Finance

Real disruption in financial services means creating new plumbing for transactions, not nicer apps on top of existing rails, says CoinDesk columnist Lex Sokolin.

Lex Sokolin, global fintech co-head at ConsenSys

Policy

Securities Law Helped Build Modern Capitalism. Crypto Should Embrace It

Crypto should work within the existing regulatory structure around securities, rather than reinvent a whole new system.

Dutch East Indiaman ships, Wenceslas Hollar Digital Collection