# blockchain.mit.edu

> Research and teaching from MIT on digital assets, tokenization,
> stablecoins, and AI: the MIT Digital Currency Experiment (2014), the
> economics of the blockchain, stablecoin design and CBDCs, the economics
> of AGI, MIT Sloan executive education courses, and a live blockchain
> demo created by Anders Brownworth.

Content pages have markdown twins: append `.md` to the URL.
Full corpus in one file: https://blockchain.mit.edu/llms-full.txt
Companion site (full writing archive): https://catalini.com/llms.txt

## Research
- [Seeding the S-Curve? The Role of Early Adopters in…](https://blockchain.mit.edu/research/seeding-the-s-curve.md): working paper, August 2016
- [When Early Adopters Don't Adopt](https://blockchain.mit.edu/research/when-early-adopters-dont-adopt.md): Science, Vol. 357, Issue 6347, pp. 135–136
- [Some Simple Economics of the Blockchain](https://blockchain.mit.edu/research/some-simple-economics-of-the-blockchain.md): Communications of the ACM, Vol. 63, No. 7 (July 2020), pp. 80–90
- [The Digital Privacy Paradox and Choice Architecture…](https://blockchain.mit.edu/research/digital-privacy-paradox.md): MIS Quarterly, 2026
- [Initial Coin Offerings and the Value of Crypto Toke…](https://blockchain.mit.edu/research/initial-coin-offerings-and-the-value-of-crypto-tokens.md): working paper, March 2018
- [Some Simple Economics of AGI](https://blockchain.mit.edu/research/some-simple-economics-of-agi.md): working paper, 2026

## More papers
- [How Will Stablecoins Integrate with the Financial S…](https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep71787): Centre for International Governance Innovation, 2025
- [Some Simple Economics of Stablecoins](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3985699): Annual Review of Financial Economics, 2021
- [From Stablecoins to CBDCs: The Public Benefits of a…](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3986192): Working paper, 2021
- [On the Economic Design of Stablecoins](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3899499): Working paper, 2021
- [Setting Standards for Stablecoin Reserves](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3970885): Working paper, 2021
- [Markets for Crypto Tokens, and Security under Proof…](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3740654): Working paper, 2021
- [Why Is the United States Lagging Behind in Payments?](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3893937): Working paper, 2021
- [Antitrust and Costless Verification: An Optimistic…](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3199453): Antitrust Law Journal, 2019
- [Market Design for a Blockchain-Based Financial Syst…](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3396834): Working paper, 2019
- Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrencies: Implica…: Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, 2018
- [Technological Opportunity, Bubbles and Innovation:…](https://catalini.com/research/bubbles-dynamics-of-icos/): Working paper, 2018
- [Blockchain Technology and Organization Science: Dec…](https://catalini.com/s/OS-Blockchain-Perspective-FINAL.pdf): Working paper, 2018

## Articles — stablecoins (external links)
- [Why An Open Standard Will Win The Stablecoin Race](https://catalini.com/writing/open-standard-stablecoin-race.md): Forbes, 2026
- [The Banks Would Like To Dye Your Stablecoins Pink](https://catalini.com/writing/banks-dye-stablecoins-pink.md): Forbes, 2026
- [What Stablecoin Regulation Means for Business](https://catalini.com/writing/stablecoin-regulation-business.md): MIT Sloan Management Review, 2026
- [How Banks Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Stablec…](https://catalini.com/writing/banks-love-stablecoins.md): Forbes, 2025
- [The Trillion-Dollar Battle for Money's Operating Sy…](https://catalini.com/writing/trillion-dollar-battle-money-os.md): The Korea Herald, 2025
- [The Unwitting Kingmaker: Why Washington's GENIUS Ac…](https://catalini.com/s/1-The-Unwitting-Kingmaker-Why-Washingtons-GENIUS-Act-Could-Accidentally-Crown-a-Stablecoin-Superpowe.pdf): Competition Policy International, 2025
- [Stripe's Tempo And The Ghost Of Facebook's Libra's…](https://catalini.com/writing/stripes-tempo-libras-ghost.md): Forbes, 2025
- [The Stablecoin Wars](https://catalini.com/writing/the-stablecoin-wars.md): Forbes, 2025
- [Why Everyone Is Wrong About Stablecoins](https://catalini.com/writing/everyone-wrong-about-stablecoins.md): Forbes, 2024
- [The Race to Dominate Stablecoins](https://hbr.org/2024/08/the-race-to-dominate-stablecoins): Harvard Business Review, 2024
- [Are Stablecoins Winner-Take-All?](https://catalini.com/s/2-ARE-STABLECOINS-WINNER-TAKE-ALL-Christian-Catalini-Jai-Massari.pdf): Competition Policy International, 2024
- [Stablecoins and the Future of Money](https://hbr.org/2021/08/stablecoins-and-the-future-of-money): Harvard Business Review, 2021
- [It's Time to Knock Down the Walled Gardens of the P…](https://catalini.com/writing/payments-walled-gardens.md): American Banker, 2021

## Articles — crypto (external links)
- [Crypto Is Ready To Be Boring Now](https://catalini.com/writing/crypto-ready-to-be-boring.md): Forbes, 2025
- [Does Bitcoin Belong on Your Balance Sheet?](https://hbr.org/2025/09/does-bitcoin-belong-on-your-balance-sheet): Harvard Business Review, 2025
- [Economists Are Still Puzzled By Bitcoin—Should Anyo…](https://catalini.com/writing/economists-puzzled-by-bitcoin.md): Forbes, 2025
- [Stripe Is Building A Blockchain: Can Openness Survi…](https://catalini.com/writing/stripe-blockchain-branded-rails.md): Forbes, 2025
- [What Everyone Gets Wrong About Crypto Adoption](https://catalini.com/writing/crypto-adoption.md): Forbes, 2025
- [With Dollar Hegemony At Risk, Could This Be Crypto’…](https://catalini.com/writing/dollar-hegemony-cryptos-moment.md): Forbes, 2025
- [Bitcoin Reserves Won't Secure America's Future—Only…](https://catalini.com/writing/bitcoin-reserves-platform-play.md): Forbes, 2025
- [The Internet Of Money Wants To Be Free](https://catalini.com/writing/internet-of-money-wants-to-be-free.md): Forbes, 2025
- [Should the United States Implement a Bitcoin Strate…](https://catalini.com/writing/bitcoin-strategic-reserve-a16z.md): a16z crypto, 2025
- [How The SEC's Attack On NFTs Harms Creators](https://catalini.com/writing/sec-attack-nfts.md): Forbes, 2024
- [Is Crypto's Killer App Finally Here?](https://catalini.com/writing/cryptos-killer-app.md): Forbes, 2024
- [Do Crypto Prices Actually Mean Anything?](https://hbr.org/2023/01/do-crypto-prices-actually-mean-anything): Harvard Business Review, 2023
- [How Digital Currencies Can Help Small Businesses](https://hbr.org/2022/05/how-digital-currencies-can-help-small-businesses): Harvard Business Review, 2022
- [Can Web3 Bring Back Competition to Digital Platform…](https://catalini.com/s/Can-Web3-Bring-Back-Competition-to-Digital-Platforms.pdf): Competition Policy International, 2022
- [DeFi, Disintermediation, and the Regulatory Path Ah…](https://catalini.com/writing/defi-regulatory-path.md): The Regulatory Review, 2021
- [Bitcoin and Beyond](https://catalini.com/writing/bitcoin-and-beyond.md): Project Syndicate, 2021

## Articles — AI (external links)
- [Bot Chargebacks, Voyages, and AI Liability](https://catalini.com/writing/bot-chargebacks-ai-liability.md): The Korea Herald, 2026
- [Intelligence Wants to Be Free](https://catalini.com/writing/intelligence-wants-to-be-free.md): Substack, 2026
- [Where Self-Improving AI is the Beginning of Infinit…](https://catalini.com/writing/self-improving-ai-beginning-of-infinity.md): Substack, 2026
- [What Gets Measured, AI Will Automate](https://hbr.org/2025/06/what-gets-measured-ai-will-automate): Harvard Business Review, 2025
- [Can Crypto's Scarcity Tame AI's Infinite Abundance?](https://catalini.com/writing/crypto-scarcity-ai-abundance.md): Forbes, 2024
- [Decentralizing AI—Big Dreams, Bigger Hype?](https://catalini.com/writing/decentralizing-ai.md): Forbes, 2024

## Articles — blockchain (external links)
- [How Blockchain Technology Will Impact the Digital E…](https://blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/business-law-blog/blog/2017/04/how-blockchain-technology-will-impact-digital-economy): Oxford Business Law Blog, 2017
- [The Firm as a Nexus of Smart Contracts? How Blockch…](https://www.yalejreg.com/nc/the-firm-as-a-nexus-of-smart-contracts-how-blockchain-and-cryptocurrencies-can-transform-the-digital-economy-by-christian-catalini/): Yale Journal on Regulation — Notice & Comment, 2017
- [How Blockchain Applications Will Move Beyond Finance](https://hbr.org/2017/03/how-blockchain-applications-will-move-beyond-finance): Harvard Business Review, 2017
- [Seeing Beyond the Blockchain Hype](https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/seeing-beyond-the-blockchain-hype/): MIT Sloan Management Review, 2017
- [Why Blockchain Can Be Good For Competition](https://catalini.com/writing/blockchain-good-for-competition.md): Forbes, 2017

## Courses
- [Blockchain and Crypto Applications: From Decentrali…](https://executive.mit.edu/course/blockchain-and-crypto-applications%3A-from-decentralized-finance-to-web-3/a054v00000rHFLVAA4.html): MIT Sloan School of Management — Executive Education
- [Blockchain Technologies: Business Innovation and Ap…](https://executive.mit.edu/course/blockchain-technologies/a056g00000URaa7AAD.html): MIT Sloan School of Management — Executive Education

## Interactive demo
- [How Blockchain Works](https://blockchain.mit.edu/how-blockchain-works/): 7-step interactive demo (hash, block, blockchain, distributed, tokens, coinbase)

## Other
- [Home / The MIT Digital Currency Experiment](https://blockchain.mit.edu/index.md)
- [Media — talks, videos, slides](https://blockchain.mit.edu/media.md)
- [Courses](https://blockchain.mit.edu/courses.md)
- [AGENTS.md](https://blockchain.mit.edu/AGENTS.md)
- [Subscribe (Substack)](https://catalini.substack.com/)