Digital Finance - DFIN Paper Discussion Meeting
The Digital Finance Journal (DFIN) will host its first online paper discussion on September 30, at 1 pm CET. This discussion paper meeting will be moderated by the DFIN Editor-in-Chief Prof. Wolfgang Härdle and Associate Editor Prof. Jörg Osterrieder. The paper discussed is "Programmable Money: Next-Generation Blockchain-Based Conditional Payments" by Prof. Ingo Weber from the Technical University of Berlin and Prof. Mark Staples from CSIRO's Data61.
The discussion starts after a 30 min paper presentation by the authors, and we expect the whole meeting to take around one hour, until 2 pm CET.
All participants have four weeks' time after the discussion to hand in their comments in written form. The comments will be published in the paper with the authors' replies. Therefore, all participants are part of the final publication in the DFIN Journal.
Please register by writing an email to Dr. Alla Petukhina at: alla.petukhina@htw-berlin.de (this opens in a new tab)
You will receive a short confirmation and the link for the video conference. The written comments can be handed in after the presentation via the DFIN Journal submission system (this opens in a new tab) or email (this opens in a new tab) until October 28.
The discussion paper can be downloaded here (this opens in a new tab).
Abstract:
Conditional payments allow the transfer of money only when predefined rules hold. Example uses could include welfare payments, employee expenses, insurance payouts, or tied donations. Normally, conditions are checked manually in reimbursement or pre-approval/audit processes, either at accounts before funds are distributed, or using account records after distribution. Blockchain's capabilities for smart contract and digital assets can be used to implement next-generation conditional payments, on a decentralised ledger. We conducted a project with an industry partner where we conceptualised, implemented, and evaluated a novel programmable money concept using blockchain. In the system, programmed policies are not attached to accounts, but instead to money itself. Policies here specify the conditions when money may be spent, and can be automatically checked by the money as it is spent. Policies can also define auxiliary actions to be taken as part of payment transactions, including side-payments. Policies can be dynamically added to and removed from money as it flows through an economy. These policies could be budget rules for tied funds, but could also enable new forms of "values-based money" that respect ethical or other rules which relate to societal values or social norms. We report on some of our experiences and insights regarding blockchain architecture, software engineering with blockchain, and blockchain-based programmable money. We also identify opportunities and open research questions in these areas.
We are looking forward to your participation and discussion.