The Algorithmic Economy of Trustless Ledgers

Blockchain is emerging as one of the keys enabling technologies of the 22nd century. Blockchain Economics is the discipline that articulates and analyzes the new economic models that are developing with the implementation of distributed ledgers, and which serve to underline blockchain technology's potential as an institutional technology (to evolve traditional institutions). Some of the distinguishing features of the Blockchain Economics paradigm are open platform business models, crypto-token money supplies, and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) as a new and form of financing. This book addresses the themes of Economic Theory and Market Structure, Open Network Innovation, Behavioral Economics, Financial Theory and Complexity Science, Policy, Regulation, and Inequality and Economic Inclusion. Ideas are synthesized from computer science, network theory, complexity, policy, economics. The potential impact of this work is proving a foundational understanding and theoretical framework for Blockchain Economics as a novel and potentially transformative discipline.