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- All HBS Web (71)
- Faculty Publications (35)
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- All HBS Web (71)
- Faculty Publications (35)
- Article
Bitcoin and Beyond
By: Christian Catalini, Ravi Jagadeesan and Scott Duke Kominers
From the growing attention to Bitcoin and "decentralized finance" to the latest excitement spurred by non-fungible tokens, the crypto economy is here to stay. But will it develop the social consensus and institutional arrangements needed to go fully mainstream?
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Catalini, Christian, Ravi Jagadeesan, and Scott Duke Kominers. "Bitcoin and Beyond." Project Syndicate (April 23, 2021).
- November 2023
- Case
Will Fintechs and Central Banks Play in Emtech’s Sandbox?
By: Daniel Isenberg and William R. Kerr
In February 2023, Emtech’s founder Carmelle Cadet is facing a dilemma. Rapidly running out of cash, Cadet has a term sheet from a leading VC but has a choice of how to structure the investment. The decision will have significant implications for Cadet’s own stake, as...
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Keywords:
Cryptocurrency
Isenberg, Daniel, and William R. Kerr. "Will Fintechs and Central Banks Play in Emtech’s Sandbox?" Harvard Business School Case 824-096, November 2023.
- August 2022 (Revised February 2023)
- Case
Braintrust: The Blockchain-Powered Talent Network
By: Christopher Stanton, Joseph B. Fuller and George Gonzalez
A San Francisco startup seeks to disrupt the freelancing industry through its user-owned talent network powered by the cryptocurrency, BTRST.
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Keywords:
Freelancers;
Blockchain;
Cryptocurrency;
Social and Collaborative Networks;
Talent and Talent Management;
Consulting Industry;
Technology Industry;
United States
Stanton, Christopher, Joseph B. Fuller, and George Gonzalez. "Braintrust: The Blockchain-Powered Talent Network." Harvard Business School Case 823-039, August 2022. (Revised February 2023.)
- 29 Mar 2022
- News
Michael Brune’s Next Battle: Clean up Bitcoin
- 01 Mar 2023
- News
The Latest Model
was booming: The price of bitcoin had surged to nearly $20,000; governments were beginning to recognize the cryptocurrency as legal tender; and industries from fintech to pharma were launching blockchain-related projects. (Though best...
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- May 2022
- Case
From GOP to NFT: Anthony Scaramucci and the Launch of Flatter NFT
By: Lauren Cohen, Richard Ryffel and Grace Headinger
Anthony Scaramucci, Managing Director of SkyBridge Capital, considered whether he should officially greenlight the launch of SkyBridge’s own NFT platform — Flatter NFT. He had led the investment firm to push first into Bitcoin and then Ethereum to make SkyBridge a...
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Keywords:
Business Startup;
Fintech;
Technology;
Cryptocurrency;
Web3;
Business Startups;
Volatility;
Decision Making;
Entertainment;
Entrepreneurship;
Investment;
Strategic Planning;
Adoption;
Competitive Advantage;
Technology Adoption;
Finance;
Currency;
Banking Industry;
Financial Services Industry;
Technology Industry;
New York (city, NY)
Cohen, Lauren, Richard Ryffel, and Grace Headinger. "From GOP to NFT: Anthony Scaramucci and the Launch of Flatter NFT." Harvard Business School Case 222-085, May 2022.
- March 2022 (Revised August 2022)
- Case
LooksRare: The Decentralized, Tokenized, NFT Marketplace
By: Scott Duke Kominers, Shai Bernstein and George Gonzalez
LooksRare launched a decentralized and anonymous organization to compete against NFT marketplace leader OpenSea. By launching its own cryptocurrency, LooksRare attempted to lure users with a digital rewards program. The nature of the organization and its business...
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Keywords:
NFTs;
Alternative Assets;
Blockchain;
Cryptocurrency;
Customer Relationship Management;
Market Entry and Exit;
Business Model;
Marketing
Kominers, Scott Duke, Shai Bernstein, and George Gonzalez. "LooksRare: The Decentralized, Tokenized, NFT Marketplace." Harvard Business School Case 822-119, March 2022. (Revised August 2022.)
- July 28, 2022
- Article
DAO Governance Attacks, and How to Avoid Them
By: Pranav Garimidi, Scott Duke Kominers and Tim Roughgarden
Many web3 projects embrace permissionless voting using a fungible and tradable native token. Permissionless voting can offer many benefits, from lowering barriers to entry to increasing competition. Token holders can use their tokens to vote on a range of issues—from...
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Keywords:
Crypto Economy;
Cryptocurrency;
Governance;
Voting;
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations;
Organizational Structure;
Digital Platforms
Garimidi, Pranav, Scott Duke Kominers, and Tim Roughgarden. "DAO Governance Attacks, and How to Avoid Them." a16zcrypto.com (July 28, 2022).
- February 9, 2024
- Article
The Rise of Consumer Crypto
By: Steve Kaczynski and Scott Duke Kominers
Although non-fungible tokens are often misunderstood and even derided, they remain a general and flexible solution for establishing and tracking ownership in the digital domain. As a superior solution to existing technology in many areas of the consumer economy, their...
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Keywords:
Cryptocurrency;
Crypto Economy;
NFTs;
Non-fungible Tokens;
Internet Of Everything;
Market Design;
Technological Innovation;
Demand and Consumers;
Web Services Industry
Kaczynski, Steve, and Scott Duke Kominers. "The Rise of Consumer Crypto." Project Syndicate (February 9, 2024).
- September 10, 2022
- Article
NFT Sales: Clearing the Market, Avoiding Gas Wars
By: Scott Duke Kominers and Tim Roughgarden
Instead of letting the market decide the price for their primary sale offerings, many NFT projects choose to initially sell their NFTs at prices below the market-clearing level. But what happens when market designers trade off efficiency for equity; or when demand far...
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Kominers, Scott Duke, and Tim Roughgarden. "NFT Sales: Clearing the Market, Avoiding Gas Wars." a16zcrypto.com (September 10, 2022).
- November 2018 (Revised June 2022)
- Teaching Note
AirFox (A): Embracing the Blockchain and an ICO
By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Nathaniel Schwalb
Teaching Note for HBS No. 818-097. In summer 2017, Victor Santos, CEO of AirFox, considered whether to pivot his startup towards a new product built with blockchain—a quickly growing technology at the time. AirFox was an early stage startup that sold...
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- May 2018 (Revised January 2019)
- Case
AirFox (A): Embracing the Blockchain and an ICO
By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Edward B. Berk and Nate Schwalb
In summer 2017, Victor Santos, CEO of AirFox, considered whether to pivot his startup towards a new product built with blockchain—a quickly growing technology at the time. AirFox was an early stage startup that sold Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to small telecom...
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Keywords:
Blockchain;
Cryptocurrency;
Initial Coin Offering;
ICO;
Business Startups;
Finance;
Currency;
Strategy;
Decision Making;
United States
Bussgang, Jeffrey J., Edward B. Berk, and Nate Schwalb. "AirFox (A): Embracing the Blockchain and an ICO." Harvard Business School Case 818-097, May 2018. (Revised January 2019.)
- December 7, 2022
- Article
Why Decentralized Crypto Platforms Are Weathering the Crash
By: Shai Bernstein and Scott Duke Kominers
In the past year, crypto markets dropped from $2.9 trillion in value to around $800 billion. In the wake of the collapse, crypto lenders and exchanges have been accused of fraud and other wrongdoing. What went wrong? One factor is competition. In theory, competition...
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Keywords:
Crypto Economy;
Cryptocurrency;
Financial Complexity;
Financial Crisis;
Decentralization;
Decentralized Markets;
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations;
Finance;
Market Design;
Financial Services Industry
Bernstein, Shai, and Scott Duke Kominers. "Why Decentralized Crypto Platforms Are Weathering the Crash." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (December 7, 2022).
- August 2021
- Case
Mylestone: Can Multiple Pivots Preserve the Life of a Death Tech Startup?
By: Shikhar Ghosh and Marilyn Morgan Westner
Dave Balter and Jim Myers co-founded Mylestone, a death tech startup that applied technology to transform how grieving people memorialize the dead. The startup addressed a cultural problem and promised to solve a pressing need in the antiquated, multi-billion dollar...
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Keywords:
Pivot;
Startup;
Business Model;
Cryptocurrency;
Ethical Decision Making;
Emotions;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Ethics;
Market Entry and Exit;
Customer Relationship Management;
Loss;
Change Management;
Relationships
Ghosh, Shikhar, and Marilyn Morgan Westner. "Mylestone: Can Multiple Pivots Preserve the Life of a Death Tech Startup?" Harvard Business School Case 822-018, August 2021.
- September 2023
- Case
Diamond Standard
By: Lauren H. Cohen, Zhaoheng Gong and Grace Headinger
Cormac Kinney, Founder and CEO of Diamond Standard, was on a mission to transform the U.S. diamond market through unlocking the precious gems as market-traded assets. As a serial FinTech entrepreneur, he hoped to add an additional service to his vault: Carats. The...
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Keywords:
Tokenization;
Fintech;
Cryptocurrency;
Liquidity;
Digital;
Rare Earth Minerals;
Decentralized;
Crypto Economy;
Financial Product;
Metals;
Diamonds;
Commodity;
Assets;
Financial Instruments;
Financial Institutions;
Financial Markets;
Investment;
Technological Innovation;
Natural Resources;
Business Startups;
Currency;
Financial Services Industry;
United States
Cohen, Lauren H., Zhaoheng Gong, and Grace Headinger. "Diamond Standard." Harvard Business School Case 224-009, September 2023.
- 17 Aug 2023
- Research & Ideas
‘Not a Bunch of Weirdos’: Why Mainstream Investors Buy Crypto
In a little more than a decade, investors have transformed cryptocurrency from a techno-curiosity into a trillion-dollar-plus opportunity that has the potential to one day reshape the global economy. Yet in the past 10 years, little has...
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Keywords:
by Ben Rand
- 18 Jul 2022
- Research & Ideas
After the 'Crypto Crash,' What's Next for Digital Currencies?
Recent high-profile financial meltdowns at Bitcoin, Celsius, and Terraform Labs, which together wiped out hundreds of billions in market value, helped trigger a flight from the cryptocurrency market, driving its value from $2.9 trillion...
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- January 12, 2023
- Article
Progressive Decentralization: A High-level Framework
By: Jad Esber and Scott Duke Kominers
We explain a high-level framework for designing for future decentralization up front, and offer some guidance about when and how to do so. The guidelines apply to both web3 projects and more traditional organizations.
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Keywords:
Crypto Economy;
Cryptocurrency;
Decentralization;
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations;
Entrepreneurial Journey;
Entrepreneurial Management;
Organization Behavior;
Organization And Management Theory;
Organization Form;
Organizational Structure
Esber, Jad, and Scott Duke Kominers. "Progressive Decentralization: A High-level Framework." a16zcrypto.com (January 12, 2023).
- October 2017 (Revised January 2018)
- Case
Bitfury: Blockchain for Government
By: Mitchell Weiss and Elena Corsi
In the Republic of Georgia, legend had it their land was a precious gift from God he had intended to keep for his mother. But over time, the land had been under intermittent threat from without and within. In 2017, the Bitfury Group, which Valery Vavilov had...
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Keywords:
Blockchain;
Bitcoin;
Cryptocurrency;
Public Entrepreneurship;
Public Innovation;
Government Innovation;
Property Rights;
Property Registry;
Technology Strategy;
Distributed Networks;
Entrepreneurship;
Public Sector;
Innovation and Invention;
Technology Adoption;
Business and Government Relations;
Technology Industry;
Real Estate Industry;
Public Administration Industry;
Georgia (nation, Asia);
Tbilisi
Weiss, Mitchell, and Elena Corsi. "Bitfury: Blockchain for Government." Harvard Business School Case 818-031, October 2017. (Revised January 2018.)
- May 2021 (Revised September 2021)
- Case
Accounting for Bitcoin at Tesla
By: Charles C.Y. Wang and Siyu Zhang
On February 8, 2021, Tesla revealed, through its 10-K filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), that it had purchased $1.5 billion of Bitcoin, totaling 7.5% of the company’s cash, and that it planned to accept payments in the cryptocurrency soon. These...
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Keywords:
Bitcoin;
Accounting;
Currency;
Communication Intention and Meaning;
Strategy;
Investment Portfolio;
Emerging Markets;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Value Creation
Wang, Charles C.Y., and Siyu Zhang. "Accounting for Bitcoin at Tesla." Harvard Business School Case 121-074, May 2021. (Revised September 2021.)