Atkinson Economics Lecture - Professor Aleksander Berentsen

The Department of Economics at the University of Essex has planned a new series of public lectures which look at issues relevant to us all.

The lectures are named the Atkinson Lectures, after Professor Tony Atkinson, a highly distinguished economist who was Professor at Essex from 1971 to 1976 and had a strong interest in applying economic research to important policy issues.

The talks will be held by guest lecturers who are academic economists, but the content will be relevant to all, from students to staff in all departments, and to the general public. They will deal with issues that we all face.

The second of the Atkinson Lectures will be given on Thursday 23 March in the Lakeside Theatre at 5pm, by Professor Aleksander Berentsen, Professor of Economics at the at the University of Basel on "The Wild West of Crypto".

Professor Berentsen, who is also a research fellow at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and previously acted as an external advisor for the Swiss National Bank, the European Central Bank, and the Bank for International Settlements, is a distinguished monetary economist who made extensive and important contributions to monetary theory and banking. Prof. Berentsen already published an academic article on digital money in 1998, and recently made Decentralised Finance, and in particular Blockchain and Cryptoassets the main focus of his research. This is evidenced by his book “Bitcoin, Blockchain, and Cryptoassets: A Comprehensive Introduction” (joint with Fabian Schaer), which is seen by many as the definite introduction into this topic.

The title of the talk is: "The Wild West of Crypto".

Abstract: An introduction into the wild west of crypto with the goal to assess its potential to disrupt money and finance. What is Bitcoin? What is decentralized finance (DeFi)? Why is Bitcoin technology a game changer? The focus of this presentation is to identify the key innovation of crypto and to explain why there will be an explosive adoption over the coming years. We also examine the FTX fraud and shortly talk about stablecoins. Furthermore, we keep an eye on the role of central banks and regulators in the rapidly evolving crypto ecosystem.

What you need to know: Please turn up fifteen minutes before to take your seats. The event is free. There will be the opportunity for questions and discussion afterwards.