
Blockchain: a solution looking for a problem
Alex Lipton: while new financial technologies show considerable promise, many proposed applications are either naive or miss the mark outright

Alexander Lipton is a Connection Science Fellow at MIT and an Adjunct Professor of Mathematics at NYU.
Fintech in general, and blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) in particular, are currently the toast of the town. Expectations of their impact on the banking industry are nothing short of miraculous; it looks like finance is going through a ‘cold fusion' phase. Potentially, fintech can have numerous applications; as of now, it is not clear which ones.
Although the current obsession
Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.
To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@risk.net or view our subscription options here: http://subscriptions.risk.net/subscribe
You are currently unable to print this content. Please contact info@risk.net to find out more.
You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@risk.net to find out more.
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
As outlined in our terms and conditions, https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-and-conditions/subscriptions/ (point 2.4), printing is limited to a single copy.
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@risk.net
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
You may share this content using our article tools. As outlined in our terms and conditions, https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-and-conditions/subscriptions/ (clause 2.4), an Authorised User may only make one copy of the materials for their own personal use. You must also comply with the restrictions in clause 2.5.
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@risk.net
More on Views
Podcast: Lyudmil Zyapkov on the relativity of volatility
BofA quant’s new volatility model combines gamma processes and fractional Brownian motion
A market-making model for an options portfolio
Vladimir Lucic and Alex Tse fill a glaring gap in European-style derivatives modelling
Degree of influence 2024: volatility and credit risk keep quants alert
Quantum-based models and machine learning also contributed to Cutting Edge’s output
Podcast: Alexandre Antonov turns down the noise in Markowitz
Adia quant explains how to apply hierarchical risk parity to a minimum-variance portfolio
UBS’s Iabichino holds a mirror to bank funding risks
Framing funding management as an optimal control problem affords an alternative to proxy hedging
Podcast: Alexei Kondratyev on quantum computing
Imperial College London professor updates expectations for future tech
Quants mine gold for new market-making model
Novel approach to modelling cointegrated assets could be applied to FX and potentially even corporate bond pricing
Quants dive into FX fixing windows debate
Longer fixing windows may benefit clients, but predicting how dealers will respond is tough