Blockchain technology has received a disproportionate share of technology news reporting in recent years. As the database technology that solves the double-transaction problem for cryptocurrencies, blockchain has conventionalised digital ledger technology thinking and is envisaged to represent the future of financial platforms. Smart contract technology, the blockchain containers for processes and rules, is positioned to expedite automation in the post-trade infrastructure of financial systems. \nFintech disruptors discern blockchainÕs potential as a mechanism for disintermediation of the insurance value chain as an opportunity for innovation. Industry counter-measures to this threat include coalitions of financial institutions to evaluate potentially disruptive technologies. The fundamental questions facing the insurance industry are the end-consumerÕs trusting beliefs and propensity to use these emerging technologies in policy servicing systems. \nWe harness technology adoption theories, trust in technology research and the task-technology fit model to measure policyholder perceptions of blockchain among consumers in the life insurance industry. Responses from a sample of life insurance policyholders (n = 199) were used to measure concepts from three IS adoption theories. Our research finds evidence of policyholder trust in the reliability of blockchain technology, an understanding of the benefits of the technology and a willingness for it to be used in policy servicing.
Bitcoin has gained more recognition than ever before, and the interest in cryptocurrencies seems to grow exponentially. Without any central government regulating Bitcoin, a global user group has adopted this new technology, which is designed to be used as a currency for trading without banks. Empirical studies focus on revealing the true characteristic of cryptocurrencies. Are they a currency, an asset or something else? This paper explores the potential of Bitcoin as a financial asset when used for hedging and portfolio diversification. A regression analysis will be performed to analyse if Bitcoin can be used as a hedge against OMXS30. This analysis yields insignificant values, which leads to a complication in the conclusion. The result imply that Bitcoin is an inadequate hedge, but may possess diversification properties. Studying Bitcoin in relation to OMXS30, Dow Jones, Nikkei 225, Gold and Oil results in correlation values close to zero. By using the mean-variance optimization method, two portfolios are created, one including and one excluding Bitcoin. We show that by including Bitcoin in the portfolio the risk can be decreased on a given return rate. Considering the low and insignificant correlation values with other assets and the better riskreturn ratio when Bitcoin is included in a portfolio, we conclude that Bitcoin can be a suitable diversification tool.
The methodologies used to transfer remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa are currently predisposing their citizens to be dealt unethically large surcharges which are relatively greater than any other location in the world. These African nation's average remittance transaction fees were greater than 13% in 2006 and could become the greatest benefactor if a more efficient methodology of remittance currency transferring were to be created. For instance, if Sub-Saharan African citizens began to utilize cryptocurrencies instead of standard transfer companies like Western Union and MoneyGram; transfer fees could be reduced to as little as (.025%) which would directly send more funds to the people that need it the most. The methodologies within this paper consist of a semi-log poverty regression that utilized an econometric structure similar to the previous literature. In addition to previous regression analyses conducted by Gupta (2009), Giuliano (2008), Adams & Page (2005), and Ravallion (1997); I attempt to include variables in attempt to determine the role that technological integration has towards poverty mitigation. My econometric semi log regression analyzes 18 nations with Africa. These nations were specifically chosen in reference to their relatively large association with remittance transfers. Within this analysis of poverty within Sub Saharan Africa, a strong correlation between remittance transactions and poverty reduction is found. More specifically, the results also suggest that remittances transactions directly assist the most impoverished citizens within a nation most efficiently and that an increased technological infrastructure played a significant role within poverty mitigation. These conclusions should further incentives developing nations across the world to investigate how cryptocurrencies could effectively mitigate poverty.
A blockchain is a public ledger for recording transactions, maintained by many nodes without central authority through a distributed cryptographic protocol. All nodes validate the information to be appended to the blockchain, and a consensus protocol ensures that the nodes agree on a unique order in which entries are appended. Distributed protocols tolerating faults and adversarial attacks, coupled with cryptographic tools are needed for this. The recent interest in blockchains has revived research on consensus protocols, ranging from the proof-of-work method in Bitcoin's "mining" protocol to classical Byzantine agreement. Going far beyond its use in cryptocurrencies, blockchain is today viewed as a promising technology to simplify trusted exchanges of data and goods among companies. In this context, the Hyperledger Project has been established in early 2016 as an industry-wide collaborative effort to develop an open-source blockchain. This talk will present an overview of blockchain concepts, cryptographic building blocks and consensus mechanisms. It will also introduce Hyperledger Fabric, an implementation of blockchain technology intended for enterprise applications. Being one of the key partners in the Hyperledger Project, IBM is actively involved in the development of this blockchain platform.
In the context of financial relations between the central and local governments, the central government has now allocated a Balancing Fund (Dana Perimbangan) to finance local needs in order to support the implementation of decentralization of governance and development as a form of political will to reform and democratize. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of DAK allocation for financial year 2003-2013 and to analyze the impact of Dana Alokasi Khusus (DAK) allocation from 2003 to 2013 on various development indicators in the regions (districts / cities). DAK transfer design is the main cause of various issues related to the implementation of DAK. In addition, the problem of DAK allocation mechanisms in the determination of programs and activities, the calculation and use of DAK, budgeting and disbursement of DAK, reporting and monitoring and evaluation of DAK. DAK, as one type of Balancing Fund, has a positive impact on the fiscal capacity of the region, especially the district /city. In addition to regional fiscal capacity, DAK also plays a role in reducing the level of fiscal gap between districts / cities during the period 2003-2007. The result show that DAK allocation (in total) is not significant influence to PDRB per capita of Regency / City. In conclusion, DAK has not had a significant impact on public services and public welfare. This is because the direction of using DAK is not directly used to "build", but only to "maintain". Therefore, DAK is considered not effective enough in an effort to achieve the national priority target.
Blockchain, the technology behind Bitcoin, promises to be nothing less than Internet 2.0. The financial services industry, in particular, is preparing for the disruption blockchain/distributed ledger technology promises to cause. In the current business environment, the majority of startups and small businesses have to look for alternative sources of funding given that ‘going public’ is increasingly expensive. The crowdfunding space has seen tremendous growth as an alternative way to raise capital by businesses. However, these crowdfunded shares cannot be traded for 7-10 years on average on any given platform in the U.S. currently. To build a trading platform on the blockchain which is completely P2P, immutable, fully transparent and low cost presents some key design issues. In particular, the issue of liquidity - and price discovery - on the blockchain continues to be a puzzle. At the same time, the proposition of removing middlemen from equities trading is a very attractive one, streamlining the process of capital formation with higher market efficiency. The current paper addresses the following key questions: How can a DLT trading platform ensure adequate liquidity? What would be the process of price discovery? While some recent studies hail blockchain technology as a boom for market liquidity, it is not immediately clear what the impact of P2P trading would be on the prices of various stocks. There are no ‘solutions’ just yet. At the same time, the lack of regulation around trading on the blockchain creates an environment of uncertainty for all players. In particular, the implementation of such a platform can revolutionize capital formation and build robust markets in both developing and developed countries where crowdfunding has proven to be a successful model. While my research is targeted at solving a very specific pain point for both researchers and companies working on distributed ledger technology, ultimately, it would be a significant step forward towards onboarding underserved communities across the world who don’t have access to financial services.
Bitcoin is a peer to peer (p2p) payment cash system and an unregulated digital currency that is primarily designed and developed in 2008 without tender legal status. Bitcoin is so-called cryptocurrency because it uses the cryptographic function in order to secure the creation and transfer of money. During recent years, Bitcoin has been emerging as the well-known electronic currency and gaining popularity worldwide as well as caught the media attention in the area of volume trading. Therefore, Bitcoin will be a potential financial asset for investors due to its extraordinary returns. The purpose of this research is to find out how Bitcoin returns correlate with stock markets and to assess the risk that the electronic currency bears, to conclude whether Bitcoin is a favourable instrument for investors that want to diversify their portfolios. Therefore, daily data from 2013 to 2017 is used to measure correlations with major global stock markets and analyse in a regression to what extend Bitcoin is integrated into financial systems. In addition, Bitcoin’s risk has been measured by estimating value at risk, as well as the volatility and a regression analysis with explanatory variables has been performed to identify the driving factors of the unusually high volatility. Finally, the researchers constructed models to forecast expected returns to identify whether Bitcoin is rather a short or long term instrument. The researchers came to the conclusion that Bitcoin is a favourable instrument to diversify a portfolio as it correlates negatively with most of the analysed stock market indices and the research result showed that Bitcoin is not yet integrated into financial systems. It has however been paid attention to the new types of risk and the questionable image the electronic currency has as it is often used to support criminal activities. The fact that no authority, clearing house or central bank's involvement is present, creates uncertainty for many investors.
This article gives a very general introduction to the technology, promises and limitations of blockchain technology --- popularized by the digital currency Bitcoin and a key force behind the surge of cryptocurrencies. Blockchain acts as a distributed database or joint global register of all transactions --- a decentralized digital ledger --- and has the potential to become a disruptive force in the financial industry and elsewhere, bypassing traditional, centralized channels such as banks.
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica} Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology enabling digital transactions without the need for central governance. Once transactions are added to the blockchain, they cannot be altered. One of the main challenges of blockchain implementation is how to create a scalable network meaning verifying many transactions per second. The goal of this thesis is to survey different approaches for scaling blockchain technologies. Scalability is one of the main drivers in blockchain development, and an important factor when understanding the future progress of blockchain. The energy sector is in need of further digitalisation and blockchain is therefore of interest to enhance the digital development of smart grids and Internet of Things. The focus of this work is put on a case study in the energy sector regarding a payment system for electrified roads. To research those questions a qualitative method based on interviews with blockchain experts and actors in electrified roads projects was applied. The interviews were processed and summarised, and thereafter related to map current developments and needs in the blockchain technology. This thesis points to the importance of considering the trilemma, stating that blockchain can be two of three things; scalable, decentralised, secure. Further, Greenspan’s criteria are applied in order to recognise the value of blockchain. These criteria together with the trilemma and understanding blockchain’s placement in the hype cycle, are of value when implementing blockchain. The study shows that blockchain technology is at an early stage and questions remain regarding future business use. Scalability solutions are both technical and case specific and it is found that future solutions for scaling blockchain are emerging.
This book is about why and how central and local governments clash over important national policy decisions. Its empirical focus is on the local politics of Japan which has significantly shaped, and been shaped by, larger developments in national politics. The book argues that since the 1990s, changes in the national political arena, fiscal and administrative decentralization, as well as broader socio-economic developments have led to a decoupling of once closely integrated national and local party systems in Japan. Such decoupling has led to a breakdown of symbiotic relations between the centre and regions. In its place are increasing strains between national and local governments leading to greater intra-party conflict, inter-governmental conflicts, and more chief executives with agendas and resources increasingly autonomous of the national ruling party. Although being a book primarily focused on the Japanese case, the study seeks to contribute to a broader understanding of how local partisans shape national policy-making. The book theorizes and investigates how the degree of state centralization, vertical integration for party organizations, and partisan congruence in different levels of government affect inter-governmental relations. Japan’s experience is compared with Germany, Canada, and the UK to explore sources of multi-level policy conflict.
Introduction. Nowadays there are no active governmental instruments to finance the activities associated with social and professional adaptation of former military servicemen. The implementation of such programs is mainly carried out at the expense of limited foreign assistance. Insufficient elaboration of theoretical fundamentals and practical aspects of financial supply to sustain the mentioned adaptation in Ukraine predominantly explain it. Objectives. One has to identify the semantic differences in scientific approaches to determination of essence of social and professional adaptation of transferred to reserve servicemen, suggest authentic definition of this notion from the viewpoint of its financial supply, systemize, generalize and deepen the theoretical & conceptual fundamentals of financing the mentionedabove events and programs of adaptation. Results. The author critically analyzed the number of definitions of social and professional adaptation of transferred to reserve servicemen and specified the structure of mentioned adaptation due to its main components. The updated definition of social and professional adaptation of transferred to reserve servicemen as an object of financing was determined. On the basis of generalized global and national experience there was developed a typology of financial sources for social and professional adaptation of former servicemen according to three criteria: level of formation, location and financing model. The author conditionally grouped four types of models of its financing due to available financial sources: centralized (budget), decentralizedendogenous, decentralized-exogenous and integrative (mixed). The author has also substantiated the fact that decentralized-exogenous model of financing of social and professional adaptation of former servicemen prevailed lately in Ukraine and identified its peculiarities and disadvantages. Conclusion. The suggested typology of financial sources for social and professional adaptation of transferred to reserve servicemen facilitates selection of optimal financial sources and models taking into account the national specificity. Under modern domestic conditions of social and economic development it is recommended to apply the integrative (mixed) model of financing that is based on the principle of social partnership and assumes the participation of all economic sectors in financing of program events of social and professional adaptation of transferred to reserve servicemen: municipal, business and non-governmental (public) ones
Taneli Hukkinen, Juri Mattila, Juuso Ilomäki, Timo Seppälä
Abstract This report documents a blockchain application developed for the energy sector that enables distributed market coordination for decentralized energy systems. As its core element, it utilizes Ethereum-based smart contracts to facilitate market matching between individual producers and consumers of electricity. The motive for this application was to understand the process of developing blockchain applications with industrial partners. Moreover, the purpose of this exercise was to examine whether Ethereum-based smart contracts could be effectively utilized for similar applications in industry and society at large. The application and the discussions during its development indicate that similar horizontal market structures may spring up in value chains in which the dynamicity of the market is growing and in which the roles of the market actors are shifting from fixed roles towards switch-role markets.
The Blockchain can definitely be applied in the field of personal data protection, since there are many people and companies that must preserve and ensure information integrity. From this point of view, using a storage system with Blockchain technology would even be more effective than a traditional management model.