Measuring the current state of the ecosystem - research study

[CCAF]

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).

[batesresearch]

Hi guys,

Awesome such an amazimg University is performing these studies! I've just completed two of the surveys.

Would be awesome to see you guys at CoinFestUK 2017! We had some university students at our last events conducting research.

[Kprawn]

So one of the objectives would be to provide the government with statics to determine the degree of regulation that would be needed in this

industry... right? I was just wondering how much of the tax payers money are being used to fund this research and if global usage will

influence the US governments decision? 

[CCAF]

Hi guys,

Awesome such an amazimg University is performing these studies! I've just completed two of the surveys.

Would be awesome to see you guys at CoinFestUK 2017! We had some university students at our last events conducting research.

Hi,

Thank you very much for participating!

[CCAF]

So one of the objectives would be to provide the government with statics to determine the degree of regulation that would be needed in this

industry... right? I was just wondering how much of the tax payers money are being used to fund this research and if global usage will

influence the US governments decision? 

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.

[buwaytress]

I've seen a number of research threads like these, but never from an institution and not with what seems to be a more technical layers. Will certainly take a look at these over the weekend.

Is OP Garrick? Out of curiosity, how did you decide to choose this forum to post this? Is it the only place you will ask?

[CCAF]

I've seen a number of research threads like these, but never from an institution and not with what seems to be a more technical layers. Will certainly take a look at these over the weekend.

Is OP Garrick? Out of curiosity, how did you decide to choose this forum to post this? Is it the only place you will ask?

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.