Understanding the Blockchain Economy
Open accessAbstract
Blockchains are the distributed ledger technology that powers Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. But blockchains can be used for more than the transfer of tokens – they are a significant new economic infrastructure. This book offers the first scholarly analysis of the economic nature of blockchains and the shape of the blockchain economy. By applying the institutional economics of Ronald Coase and Oliver Williamson, this book shows how blockchains are poised to reshape the nature of firms, governments, markets, and civil society.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Trusted third parties that exist primarily to provide trust to facilitate economic transactions face competition from the blockchain as an institutional technology.
“Those institutions-trusted third parties-that exist primarily for the purpose of providing trust to facilitate economic transactions face competition from the blockchain as an institutional technology (Davidson et al., 2018;Berg et al., 2019).”
From Blockchain Technology as Economic Infrastructure: Revisiting the Electronic Markets Hypothesis (2019) · cites this paper as Berg et al., 2019
Cited by
Sorted by citations
A Survey of Blockchain and Intelligent Networking for the Metaverse
Fu, Y., Li, C., Yu, F. R., Luan, T. H., Zhao, P., & Liu, S. (2022) · IEEE Internet of Things Journal · doi:10.1109/jiot.2022.3222521 · Cited by 184 · see citing works
International policy coordination for blockchain supply chains
Allen, D. W. E., Berg, C., Davidson, S., Novak, M., & Potts, J. (2019) · Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies · doi:10.1002/app5.281 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Self-citationBlockchain Technology as Economic Infrastructure: Revisiting the Electronic Markets Hypothesis
Berg, C., Davidson, S., & Potts, J. (2019) · Frontiers in Blockchain · doi:10.3389/fbloc.2019.00022 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
“Those institutions—trusted third parties—that exist primarily for the purpose of providing trust to facilitate economic transactions face competition from the blockchain as an institutional technology (Davidson et al., 2018; Berg et al., 2019).”
BackgroundMethodSelf-citationAlshahrani, H. M., Islam, N., Syed, D., Sulaiman, A. A., Reshan, M. S. A., Rajab, K. D., Shaikh, A., Shuja-Uddin, J., & Soomro, A. (2023) · Energies · doi:10.3390/en16031510 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
General Concept of Real Estate Tokenization on Blockchain
Konashevych, O. (2020) · European Property Law Journal · doi:10.1515/eplj-2020-0003 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Government by Code? Blockchain Applications to Public Sector Governance
Bustamante, P., Cai, M., Gomez, M. M., Harris, C. M., Krishnamurthy, P. V., Law, W., Madison, M. J., Murtazashvili, I., Murtazashvili, J. B., Mylovanov, T., et al. (2022) · Frontiers in Blockchain · doi:10.3389/fbloc.2022.869665 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Why airdrop cryptocurrency tokens?
Allen, D. W. E., Berg, C., & Lane, A. M. (2023) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113945 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Self-citationWeb3 as ‘self-infrastructuring’: The challenge is how
Nabben, K. (2023) · Big Data & Society · doi:10.1177/20539517231159002 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
“…of mathematics, computer-based cryptographic economies (or ‘ cryptoeconomic ’ systems) combine cryptography and economic incentives to ‘ reshape the nature of fi rms, governments, markets and civil society ’ through new modes of communication, cooperation and organization (Berg et al., 2019).”
BackgroundThe veil of transparency: Blockchain and sustainability governance in global supply chains
Bernards, N., Campbell‐Verduyn, M., & Rodima‐Taylor, D. (2022) · Environment and Planning C Politics and Space · doi:10.1177/23996544221142763 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
“The technology is said to not only economise the costs of data recording and sharing, but most importantly for global supply chain sustainability, to ef fi ciently present and verify identify attributes of goods, including their condition and provenance (Berg et al., 2019, 100 – 102).”
What's Next in Blockchain Research?
Treiblmaier, H., Swan, M., Filippi, P. D., Lacity, M. C., T, T. H. M. I., & Kim, H. (2021) · ACM SIGMIS Database the DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems · doi:10.1145/3447934.3447938 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Proof of Work as a Three-Sided Market
Berg, C., Davidson, S., & Potts, J. (2020) · Frontiers in Blockchain · doi:10.3389/fbloc.2020.00002 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“In the next section (following Berg et al., 2019) we discuss the notions of trust and opportunism and present a very simple schema that sets of the argument that the blockchain generates an industrialized form of trust.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSelf-citationBlockchain Governance: What We Can Learn From the Economics of Corporate Governance
Allen, D. W. E., & Berg, C. (2020) · The Journal of British Blockchain Association · doi:10.31585/jbba-3-1-(8)2020 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Self-citationTreiblmaier, H. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-05324-6_28-2 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Treiblmaier, H. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-05324-6_28-1 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
From Athens to the Blockchain: Oracles for Digital Democracy
Poblet, M., Allen, D. W. E., Konashevych, O., Lane, A. M., & Valdivia, C. A. D. (2020) · Frontiers in Blockchain · doi:10.3389/fbloc.2020.575662 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Arpacı, İ. (2023) · Technological Forecasting and Social Change · doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122858 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Treiblmaier, H. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-48652-5_28 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Blockchain and tourism: Paradoxes, misconceptions, and a research roadmap
Treiblmaier, H. (2021) · Tourism Economics · doi:10.1177/13548166211013276 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations: A Systematic Literature Review and Research Agenda
Bonnet, S., & Teuteberg, F. (2023) · International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management · doi:10.1142/s0219877024500263 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Cryptoeconomics as governance: an intellectual history from “Crypto Anarchy” to “Cryptoeconomics”
Nabben, K. (2023) · Internet Histories · doi:10.1080/24701475.2023.2183643 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Towards Blockchain Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO) Design
Saurabh, K., Upadhyay, P., & Rani, N. (2024) · Information Systems Frontiers · doi:10.1007/s10796-023-10455-w · Cited by 20 · see citing works
“…strategy “specifies to be pursued goals and objectives, values and missions to set basic direction of an organization” (Balcerzak et al., 2022; Berg et al., 2019; De Sitter et al., 1997; Fulton & King, 2021; Howell et al., 2019; Ostrom’s (1990); Rozas et al., 2021; Santana & Albareda, 2022).”
Blockchains and constitutional catallaxy
Berg, A., Berg, C., & Novak, M. (2020) · Constitutional Political Economy · doi:10.1007/s10602-020-09303-9 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Self-citationBlockchain Security as “People Security”: Applying Sociotechnical Security to Blockchain Technology
Nabben, K. (2021) · Frontiers in Computer Science · doi:10.3389/fcomp.2020.599406 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
The nature of the decentralised autonomous organisation
Davidson, S. (2025) · Journal of Institutional Economics · doi:10.1017/s1744137424000341 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Self-citationPhilosophy, politics, and economics of cryptocurrency I: Money without state
Bailey, A. M., Rettler, B., & Warmke, C. (2021) · Philosophy Compass · doi:10.1111/phc3.12785 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Blockchain governance and governance via blockchain: decentralized utopia or centralized dystopia?
Cengiz, F. (2023) · Policy Design and Practice · doi:10.1080/25741292.2023.2247203 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“Blockchain is perceived as a “ disruptive ” technology that could fundamentally impact the foundations of the key institutions of the capitalist economy and society (Berg, Davidson, and Potts 2019, ch.2).”
BackgroundProperty Rights, Knowledge Commons, and Blockchain Governance
Allen, D. W. E., Berg, C., Davidson, S., & Potts, J. (2021) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108692915.008 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Self-citationThe exchange theory of web3 governance
Allen, D. W. E., Berg, C., Lane, A. M., MacDonald, T., & Potts, J. (2023) · Kyklos · doi:10.1111/kykl.12345 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Self-citationJärvekülg, M., Ibrus, I., & Rohn, U. (2023) · Convergence The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies · doi:10.1177/13548565231214184 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“Speci fi cally, institutional cryptoeconomics (Berg et al., 2019) sees blockchain protocols as software-encoded rulesets that facilitate ‘ high-trust economics ’ of services such as dApps (decentralized applications) and organizational forms such as DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) that…”
Crypto altruism: Applying blockchain to charitable and humanitarian activities
Novak, M. (2023) · Chinese Public Administration Review · doi:10.1177/15396754231175173 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“Blockchain is widely touted as a ledger technology suitable for transforming the operational and governance environments of business and government (C. Berg et al., 2019).”
Crypto airdrops: An evolutionary approach
(2024) · doi:10.1007/s00191-024-00874-6 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Metaverse through Blockchain and Intelligent Networking: A Comprehensive Survey
Alja’afreh, M., Alouneh, S., Obaidat, M. A., Karime, A., & Saddik, A. E. (2023) · International Conference on Blockchain Computing and Applications (BCCA) · doi:10.1109/bcca58897.2023.10338851 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Voting with Time Commitment for Decentralized Governance: Bond Voting as a Sybil-Resistant Mechanism
Mohan, V., Khezr, P., & Berg, C. (2024) · Management Science · doi:10.1287/mnsc.2023.01536 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Self-citationDecentralized justice: state of the art, recurring criticisms and next-generation research topics
Ast, F., George, W. R., Kamalova, J., Sharma, A., & Aouidef, Y. (2023) · Frontiers in Blockchain · doi:10.3389/fbloc.2023.1204090 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Allen, D. W. E., Berg, C., & Davidson, S. (2022) · Journal of Institutional Economics · doi:10.1017/s1744137422000364 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“There have been some attempts to build betting markets on blockchains (e.g. Augur) that protect users through the trust-minimisation properties of blockchain technology (Berg et al. , 2019).”
BackgroundSelf-citationExplaining institutional technology
Potts, J., Dopfer, K., & Tulloh, B. (2025) · European Economic Review · doi:10.1016/j.euroecorev.2025.104968 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Self-citationThe Entrepreneurial State and the Platform Economy
Davidson, S., & Potts, J. (2022) · International studies in entrepreneurship · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-94273-1_2 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Self-citationKurhan, N., Fartushniak, O., & Безкоровайна, Л. В. (2023) · Economics of Development · doi:10.57111/econ/3.2023.08 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Allen, D. W. E., Berg, C., & Potts, J. (2025) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781009638616 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-citationMarmefelt, T. (2024) · Politics and Governance · doi:10.17645/pag.8540 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“Berg et al. (2019) argue that rather than creating new fiat currencies (CBDCs) or cryptocurrencies that resemble hard money (stablecoins), the existence of cryptocurrencies will tether viable fiat currencies to cryptocurrency hardness.”
BackgroundInfluentialMen, F., Yaqub, R. M. S., Yan, R., Irfan, M., & Fatima, M. E. (2022) · Frontiers in Environmental Science · doi:10.3389/fenvs.2022.1017297 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“The high speed of innovation creates opportunities for new businesses, while simultaneously increasing global competition and shortening the company's life cycle (Berg et al., 2019).”
BackgroundBlockchain and Investment: An Austrian Approach
Allen, D. W. E., Berg, C., Davidson, S., & Potts, J. (2020) · The Review of Austrian Economics · doi:10.1007/s11138-020-00504-x · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“Falling cost of trust therefore predicts both less vertical integration in industrial supply chains and increased contractual linkages (Williamson 1985; Berg et al. 2019b), as well as increased globalisation in trade specialisation.”
Self-citationBlockchain TradeTechPreprint
Allen, D. W. E., Berg, C., Davidson, S., Novak, M., & Potts, J. (2018) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3171988 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-citationQuantum Crypto-Economics: Blockchain Prediction Markets for the Evolution of Quantum TechnologyPreprint
Rohde, P. P., Mohan, V., Davidson, S., Berg, C., Allen, D. W. E., Brennen, G. K., & Potts, J. (2021) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3777706 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Self-citationBlockchain barriers in public organizations: A systematic literature review
Murano, A., Bruno, B., & Vesprı, V. (2025) · Socio-Economic Planning Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.seps.2025.102364 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Public administration using blockchain technology and platforms: new opportunities
Дзюндзюк, В., & Дзюндзюк, Б. В. (2022) · Pressing Problems of Public Administration · doi:10.26565/1684-8489-2022-2-07 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
The ‘natural state’ of blockchains: an ethnography of validator governance
Rennie, E., Potts, J., & Tan, J. (2025) · Information Communication & Society · doi:10.1080/1369118x.2025.2455116 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Self-citationCorporate Governance in a Crypto‐World
Davidson, S. (2025) · Regulation & Governance · doi:10.1111/rego.12661 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Self-citationAkpan, M. N. U., & Ukwu, H. U. (2023) · Risk Governance and Control Financial Markets & Institutions · doi:10.22495/rgcv13i4p6 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Chen, W. D., & Murtazashvili, I. (2024) · Chinese Public Administration Review · doi:10.1177/15396754231222575 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“As an organizational technology, blockchains can be deployed in small businesses and redefine how business operates, enable individuals and organizations to trade talents and skills in an environment devoid of big business (Berg et al., 2019).”
BackgroundNabben, K. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-10507-4_16 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
RetractedMetavers i NFT, nous reptes tecnològics en la imposició indirecta i internacional
Belda, I. (2023) · IDP Revista de Internet Derecho y Política · doi:10.7238/idp.v0i37.403678 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
The role of digital technologies in promoting social innovation in tourism Brazilian companies
Maiurro, M., Breda, Z. M. D. J., Brandão, F., et al. (2025) · European Public & Social Innovation Review · doi:10.31637/epsir-2026-1979 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Blockchain Technology in Hospitality
Bhattacharya, A., Sharma, V., Mishra, R. R., et al. (2024) · Advances in hospitality, tourism and the services industry (AHTSI) book series · doi:10.4018/979-8-3693-7898-4.ch008 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Economic Perspectives on the Governance of Blockchains
Murtazashvili, I., & Weiss, M. B. H. (2022) · Springer optimization and its applications · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-07535-3_22 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Blockchain: Antecedents and Future Challenges
(2023) · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-38260-4_9 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Entering the Field of Web3: “Infrastructuring” and How to Do it
Nabben, K. (2024) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/s0733-558x20240000089003 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Finance 4.0: Design principles for a value-sensitive cryptoecnomic system to address sustainabilityPreprint
Ballandies, M. C., Dapp, M. M., Degenhart, B. A., et al. (2021) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2105.11955 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Spatial Institutional CryptoeconomicsPreprint
Potts, J., Allen, D. W. E., Novak, M., Berg, C., & Jowett, K. (2019) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3439911
Self-citationIntroduction to the Special Section
de Silva, A., & Novak, M. (2020) · Economic Papers A journal of applied economics and policy · doi:10.1111/1759-3441.12280
On V-form Firms: Governance, Cryptocurrency, and Internalization on the BlockchainPreprint
Caton, J. (2020) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3715053
The Evolution of Web 3 and Decentralized Governance
Bassi, E., & Bandirali, M. (2023) · Advances in web technologies and engineering book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-6684-9919-1.ch007
Kulova, I. (2024) · AIP conference proceedings · doi:10.1063/5.0184740
Golovics, J. (2024) · Educatio · doi:10.1556/2063.32.2023.4.1
Павлов, Р., Павлова, Т., & Grynko, T. (2025) · Економіка та суспільство · doi:10.32782/2524-0072/2025-74-5
Alasik, A., & Yıldırım, N. (2025) · doi:10.7566/jpscp.44.011010
From Bitcoin to Ethereum: ethics and antifragility of decentralization
Павлов, Р., Павлова, Т., Grynko, T., Levkovich, O., & HORDIEIEVA-HERASYMOVA, L. (2025) · International Journal of Ethics and Systems · doi:10.1108/ijoes-03-2025-0144 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Private Law Remedies for Cryptocurrency Fraud
Lane, A. M. (2025) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-96-7121-2_10
Ibrus, I., Järvekülg, M., & Rohn, U. (2026) · The Communication Review · doi:10.1080/10714421.2026.2633855
Schumpeter in the Digital Economy
Potts, J. (2026) · Economic complexity and evolution · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-26294-3_26
Self-citationEnhancing Data Warehouses Through Blockchain Integration
Azabou, M., & Khrouf, O. (2026) · International Symposium of Systems, Advanced Technologies and Knowledge (ISSATK) · doi:10.1109/issatk69667.2026.11566776
Bruno, B., & Murano, A. (2026) · Technology Analysis and Strategic Management · doi:10.1080/09537325.2026.2710691
Micro-Meso-Macro Dynamics of Aggregate Preference Formation
Ackland, R., & Novak, M. (2025) · Advanced sciences and technologies for security applications · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-17478-9_13
Mbudaya, J., Chikwere, D., Chinyongo, K., et al. (2026) · Environmental footprints and eco-design of products and processes · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-30298-4_18
Manogna, R. L., & Kalyan, B. (2026) · Discover Computing · doi:10.1007/s10791-026-10467-5
“Its unique advantages, including autonomy, decentralization, and verifiability, distinguish it from other distributed systems like grid and cloud computing [8, 9].”
Alignment as an Institutional Problem
Berg, C. (2026) · Palgrave studies in classical liberalism · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-22310-4_7
Self-citation
- Authors
- Berg, C., Davidson, S., & Potts, J.
- Venue
- Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks
- Publisher
- Edward Elgar Publishing
- Published
- 2019
- OpenAlex
- W2969461841
- Cited by
- 78
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 8.54
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- figshare.com
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- RMIT Research Repository (RMIT University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Blockchain Technology Applications and Security
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Economic Theory and Institutions
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › General Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Digital Transformation in Law
- Keywords
- distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, institutional economics, Ronald Coase, Oliver Williamson, nature of the firm, blockchain governance, markets, civil society, economic infrastructure
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
