In June 2018, UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business announced its participation in the University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI), a new program founded by Ripple, a blockchain industry leader. As a leading partner in the UBRI, Berkeley Haas was awarded a multi-year, multi-million-dollar grant to support research in blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital payments. The grant is housed in the Institute for Business and Social Impact (IBSI) at Berkeley Haas.
In January of 2019, the first group of UC Berkeley students to be awarded research grants from the new Berkeley Haas Blockchain Initiative was announced. The group included Blockchain@Berkeley’s, Bosun Adebaki, Kate Tomlinson, and Sarah Reynolds.
Central Bank Digital Currency
A Business Consultant for Blockchain@Berkeley and a second year MBA at Haas, Bosun will be carrying out research into the Merits of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
For a number of years, central banks have been examining the extent to which digital currencies may be used to increase competitiveness and enhance efficiency (see cases such as M-Pesa). Whilst the development of central bank use cases has increased pace in recent years, there is a lack of detailed analysis into the viability of CBDC, with particular focus on the challenges of the 2.5bn underbanked.
Bosun’s research will seek to understand and explain CBDC use cases, particularly those that focus on increasing economic inclusion for the financially underserved. It will consider the relative success of CBDC pilot studies carried out by a number of central banks across the globe, and will seek to provide clarity on the impact that CBDCs may have on existing monetary systems.
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