Hello,

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), an academic research centre at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, is conducting the second edition of its Global Cryptoasset Benchmarking Study. The goal of this research study is to present a comprehensive empirical picture of the global cryptoasset activities and provide novel insights into the current state and evolution of the ecosystem.

The first edition of the Global Cryptoasset Benchmarking Study, published in April 2017 and freely available for download on our website, featured non-public data from over 140 cryptoasset companies and entities. It has received worldwide media coverage and interest from industry, policymakers and researchers. It has been mentioned in publications such as the Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg and The Independent, and was cited in reports of the World Bank and the Financial Stability Board, among others.

Today, we are releasing two surveys that are directed towards miners and service providers (e.g. exchanges, wallets, payment service providers). If you are active in one of these areas, we would be delighted to have you contribute to this study. All survey links can also be found on our website (http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/faculty-research/centres/alternative-finance/research/live-research-surveys/). The surveys are available in English, Spanish, and Chinese. To avoid phishing attempts, please make sure to you use the survey links from the live research surveys page to take the survey.

Please note that most questions are optional and do not require a response. Individual responses will be anonymised, and findings will only be presented at the aggregate level (e.g. by activity, region, etc.). All identifying information concerning you and/or your organisation’s responses will be removed from the published study. All survey participants have the option to be prominently acknowledged in the benchmarking report with their logo displayed.

The findings of this research study will be presented in Q3 2018 in a report that will be freely available on our website like all our previous reports. We would like to thank you in advance for contributing to this research study. If you have any questions, concerns or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact the principal investigator Michel Rauchs by email (m.rauchs@jbs.cam.ac.uk).

Hello,
 
After months of work, we are delighted to announce that the Global Cryptocurrency Benchmarking Study conducted by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance has been released (http://insight.jbs.cam.ac.uk/2017/cryptocurrency-growth/). The study is freely available for download on our website (http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/faculty-research/centres/alternative-finance/publications/global-cryptocurrency/#.WOjiy1OGNn4).
 
This study would not have been possible without the support and participation from nearly 150 other cryptocurrency companies and individuals that contributed data. We would like to thank all participants very much for contributing to this study, which is invaluable for helping to present an empirical picture of the current state of the cryptocurrency industry. We are grateful for the trust placed by all study participants in the University of Cambridge research team.
 
The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance is planning on conducting cryptocurrency benchmarking studies on an annual basis. We would welcome your comments and feedback on this inaugural study to improve the research process.
 
Thank you very much.
 
Kind regards,

Dr Garrick Hileman
g.hileman@jbs.cam.ac.uk
 
Michel Rauchs
m.rauchs@jbs.cam.ac.uk

Hi,

Thank you for your message. Although the report won't be focusing too much on the technical level, but rather on the business activity in the ecosystem and adoption/usage, we will also attempt to cover technical aspects where necessary.

Garrick isn't posting here, I'm a member of his research team.

We tried to approach the community via different public forums, including this one. We were lucky that r/bitcoin decided to put our announcement as a sticky post for more than a week, which resulted in a considerable increase in response rates. Unfortunately, the announcement has not been met with much success here on bitcointalk.

All surveys except the Wallet Survey are still open, but we will close them soon. While all surveys are addressing companies/projects, individual miners do also have the possibility to participate.

Hi,

Thank you for your message. Just to be clear, the report is not funded by the government, and so not a single cent of tax payers' money has been spent on this research study Also, the findings will be published (at the aggregate level, i.e., by region and activity, and not at the individual firm level) in the form of a report that will be publicly available on our website and free for everyone to download. The goal of the study is to shed light on the current state of the industry, and to provide new data-driven insights that may be relevant to users, industry actors, and government/regulatory agencies as well. The idea is that having an independent research centre conducting such a study will help stakeholders in their attempt to better understand the specifics of this nascent industry, and may prevent government agencies to have to resort to heavy-handed data requests from individual companies.

Hi,

Thank you very much for participating!

Hi everyone,
 
The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) [https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/faculty-research/centres/alternative-finance/], an academic research centre at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, is conducting the first global cryptocurrency and “blockchain” benchmarking study.

The goal of this research study is to present an empirical picture of the current state of the industry and explore how cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are being used today. There is a growing need to have quantifiable metrics of the development of the ecosystem to analyse current trends and patterns.

We have released a total of six surveys that cover a broad range of activities in the sector. Please note that most questions are optional and do not require a response. Individual responses will be anonymised, and findings will only be presented at the aggregate level (e.g., by activity, region, etc.). All identifying information concerning you and/or your organisation’s responses will be removed from the published study.

If you are active in one of the following areas, we would be delighted if you could complete the appropriate survey below:

• Cryptocurrency Mining Survey (also directed at individuals): https://jbs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eyZhB7YXwaFBMWh  
• Money Transfer and Cryptocurrency Payments Survey: https://jbs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4T5MnFD1lQO5pEV  
• Cryptocurrency Wallet and Vault Survey: https://jbs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bwLXgePUqgAxnPn  
• Cryptocurrency Exchanges Security Survey: https://www.research.net/r/QQTMFWM
• Permissioned Blockchain Survey: https://jbs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aayQ02aCZoCR0iN  
• Central Bank and Public Sector Blockchain Survey: https://jbs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0uIN7VNkHdx7mlv  

All survey links can also be found on our website (http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/faculty-research/centres/alternative-finance/research/live-research-surveys/).

There are many benefits that industry actors can gain by participating in this research (e.g., developing key performance indicators for comparison with peers, getting insights into the industry’s best practices, current trends and patterns, publicity, etc.), but we believe that the largest benefits may be around the industry’s relationship with regulators. We feel that benchmarking is a way for the industry to constructively engage regulators through independently conducted research. CCAF research has examined the link between alternative finance activity and economic growth, and many countries are desperately seeking to attract innovative companies and drive growth. Such research can inform the regulatory conversation and perspective of policymakers as they are thinking about how to approach the industry. However, we need as many industry actors as possible to participate in this research for it to be relevant.

Overall, CCAF benchmarking research can play a role in balancing the needs of regulators, many of whom want to better understand emerging alternative finance sectors without having to resort to heavy-handed data requests from firms, with the needs of industry members who are keen to protect their intellectual property, security, and avoid unnecessary regulatory burdens.

The findings of this research study will be presented in early 2017 in a report that will be freely available on our website like all our previous reports (https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/faculty-research/centres/alternative-finance/publications/). More information about the benchmarking study can be found in our press release (http://www.coindesk.com/press-releases/cambridge-centre-alternative-finance-launches-first-global-blockchain-benchmarking-study/). This research is being supported by a number of research partners including Coin Center ( http://coincenter.org/link/this-academic-study-of-digital-currency-businesses-needs-your-help), Innovate Finance and the Asia Blockchain Foundation ( http://en.asiablockchainfoundation.org/takepartintheGBBS.html).

We would like to thank you in advance for contributing to this research study. If you have any questions, concerns or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact Garrick by email (g.hileman@jbs.cam.ac.uk).

Dear miners,
 
The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) [https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/faculty-research/centres/alternative-finance/], an academic research centre at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, is conducting a research survey on cryptocurrency mining. The goal of this survey is to get a better picture of miners’ opinions on policy issues and the challenges that they face. This survey is part of a broader global cryptocurrency and blockchain benchmarking study that will be freely distributed in early 2017. More information about the benchmarking study can be found in our press release (http://www.coindesk.com/press-releases/cambridge-centre-alternative-finance-launches-first-global-blockchain-benchmarking-study/) and in Dr Garrick Hileman's presentation at the 2016 Shanghai Blockchain Summit (http://www.garrickhileman.com/2016/10/video-introducing-cambridge-global_27.html).
 
There are many benefits that miners can gain by participating in this research (e.g., developing mining key performance indicators), but we think the biggest benefits may be around the industry’s relationship with regulators. We feel that benchmarking is a way for the industry to constructively engage regulators through independently conducted research. Prior CCAF research has pointed out the link between alternative finance activity and economic growth. Many countries today are desperately seeking to attract innovative companies and drive economic growth. However, we need you to participate in our research to develop such findings.

Overall, CCAF benchmarking research can play a role in balancing the needs of regulators, many of whom want to better understand emerging alternative finance sectors without having to resort to heavy-handed data requests from firms, with the needs of industry members who are keen to protect their intellectual property, security, and avoid unnecessary regulatory burdens.
 
If you are an active participant in the cryptocurrency mining industry (whether as an individual or as a corporate entity) we would welcome your participation in this research study. The survey consists of 11 questions and should take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete. Please note that all questions are optional. The questions are related to general policy issues and do not ask for sensitive or confidential data.  The survey can be accessed via the following public web link: https://jbs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eyZhB7YXwaFBMWh.
 
All identifying information concerning you and/or your organisation’s responses will be removed from the published study, and findings will only be presented in aggregated form (e.g., by country, activity, etc.). Only the CCAF research team will have access to the response database. All survey participants will have the opportunity to be acknowledged in the benchmarking report with their logo displayed. If you wish to have your organisation’s logo included in the final report please email a high-resolution logo with the name of your organisation to ccaf@jbs.cam.ac.uk.
 

We would like to thank you in advance for contributing to this research study. If you have any questions, concerns or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact Garrick by email (g.hileman@jbs.cam.ac.uk).