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).
