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Chris Berg, Sinclair Davidson and Jason Potts are with the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub in Melbourne, Australia. In this opinion piece, the authors discuss why blockchain may be more disruptive than the so-called 'general purpose technologies' that transformed society in recent centuries.  While cryptoeconomics is already a vibrant research field, the study of the blockchain must not be left solely to computer scientists and game theorists. The rollout of blockchain technology raises complex questions in economics, public policy, law, sociology and political economy. What we call "institutional cryptoeconomics" starts from a simple premise – the blockchain is not just a new general purpose technology, it is a new institutional technology. This may sound like a pedantic distinction, but the difference between these two conceptions is profound. General purpose technologies allow us to do what we already do better, faster and cheaper. Economists und...

Developers at some of the top tech companies have created a browser API that could soon make it easier to buy goods and services online with cryptocurrency. The work, started by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) with the help of Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Apple and Mozilla, is a tangible step forward for a currency-agnostic web payment standard  first conceived in 2013. Equally, as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies gain more momentum, the launch signifies the growing recognition of cryptocurrency as a payments technology. ADVERTISEMENT Indeed, the W3C has gotten more interested in blockchain technologies over the years, hosting its first ever blockchain workshop in June last year. But while participants were left with interest in standardizing and democratizing the technology's use, no formal work was decided upon then. That, however, has changed. Announced on Thursday, the API is currently  being implemented in browsers including Go...

Mainstream ICOs may have finally arrived. The much anticipated token sale for social messaging giant Kik, which is today offering buyers the chance to purchase tokens that will power future apps on its platform, launched at 9 a.m. EST, drawing upwards of $70 million in its first few hours. Data from the ethereum blockchain indicates Kik has so far raised more than 3.2 million ether (worth about $71 million at press time) in upwards of 8,000 transactions (not all of which have confirmed) through 12 p.m. EST. More than 17,000 buyers have registered to participate in the sale, which will be conducted in two parts. In total, Kik is looking to raise a total of $125 million through the ICO, though it's already raised $50 million from the private sale of its token, called Kin, to institutional investors. Going forward, the remaining tokens are to be sold in two parts: today's sale allows investors to purchase up to 15.2 ETH in Kin tokens, with any remaining to...

The ether-bitcoin exchange rate (ETH/BTC) could be preparing for a breakout. At press time, ether is trading at 0.07165 BTC  (about $310), with the cross-cryptocurrency exchange rate coming off a recent low of 0.0655 BTC ($284) on August 15. Yet, as it is widely believed that ethereum's main purpose is to serve as the launchpad for decentralized applications , the platform's cryptocurrency could emerge as one to watch in the months ahead. Ethereum developers have now set September 18 as a date for Byzantium Testnet launch. The first of two phases in the platform's coming 'Metropolis' update , it's likely to see better ethereum applications created and distributed more widely. Given a potential increase in usability, it's possible ether could extend its already impressive year-to-date gains. At one point of time in June, ether-US dollar exchange rate was up 2,800%. However, while the ETH/USD pair has been kind to traders so far this year, price ...

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The U.K.'s chief financial markets regulator has helped develop a new app using blockchain consortium R3's Corda distributed ledger platform. Announced today, the prototype – focused on the reporting of mortgage transactions – was revealed to have been built with input from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and another unnamed banking institution. The app allows regulators to see real-time updates, with receipts being created for mortgage transactions as they are conducted. That the FCA would be interested in technology that could enhance its oversight is perhaps unsurprising. To date, the FCA has welcomed a number of startups into its regulatory "sandbox," which allows for the testing of financial products and services in a limited setting. Last year, FCA director of strategy Chris Woodward said that blockchain was one technology that the agency was considering for possible applications. "[This ...

In the coming war between digital currencies, which side will your money be on? If that question sounds crazy, meet Arthur Hayes, a former CitiGroup trader who runs BitMEX, a Hong Kong-based crypto exchange that allows eye-bulging leverage – up to 100 times – when buying and selling cryptocurrency derivatives. Not just another Wall Street veteran, Hayes may also be one of the industry's biggest bitcoin bulls. It's a bold claim, but you might agree if you saw his newsletter – a regular synthesis of cryptocurrency news, gangster quotes, GIFs and end-of-the-world premonitions. In fact, Hayes thinks blockchain is lighting a fuse that will ignite open combat between "true cryptocurrencies" (like bitcoin) and a new "digital fiat" controlled by central banks. These two parallel currency systems are the inevitable outcome of his core investing thesis: "A digital society needs digital cash." In other words, bitcoin has brought the wor...