by Primavera de Filippi and Xavier Lavayssière
More recently, a new technology has came about, together with a whole new set of promises for decentralization and disintermediation. By combining peer-to-peer technologies, game theory and cryptographic primitives, blockchain technology makes it possible for people to experiment with new forms of peer-production and distributed collaboration. Just like the Internet enabled users to
communicate on a peer-to-peer basis, bypassing traditional intermediaries, Bitcoin and other blockchain-based applications enable users to exchange value directly with one another, relying on economic models and incentivization schemes that do not require the intervention of any trusted authority or intermediary operator.
Primavera de Filippi is a researcher in Blockchain and peer-to-peer technologies for the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the Berkman-Klein Center for Internet and Society