Cryptocurrency Market Design, Digital Fiat and the New Financial System Seminar

3 credits · Law School

This seminar explores the rise of crypto-based value transfer systems with a focus on examining the market structure for their issue and trading as well as the regulatory debates that surround their oversight. As part of its discussion on cryptocurrencies, this seminar will look at the increasingly visible system of stablecoins that sit at the intersection of securities markets and financial stability. With stablecoins becoming a popular means of “payment” on cryptocurrency exchanges, this seminar will explore their risks in the context of trading as well as the rationales why they have come to play this role. In its final key focus, the seminar will look at the role of central bank digital currencies and the progress being made around the globe in the direction of creating tokenized fiat currencies. In putting these three aspects of the crypto-ecosystem together – cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies – the seminar will help to interrogate how they fit together and the institutional structures needed to support them (e.g., cryptocurrency exchanges). Students should note that this seminar is designed to examine both the technology underlying crypto-markets (e.g., how do blockchains work from a computational standpoint?) as well as regulatory risks and responses. It will straddle the intersections of securities market structure, platform design/economics and financial stability. Enrollment limited. [3]