This talk introduces the idea of a secure, digital ledger for tracking financial assets. Bitcoin is a leading example, but other architectures are also gaining traction. Applications and use cases include payments, remittances, and international settlement. The talk analyzes costs and benefits of introducing new currencies, and introduces a simple model of the exchange rate between fiat currencies and virtual currencies. This model is applied to Bitcoin data. Finally, we consider longer-term implications of the new technology, including the emerging applications of programmable money, such as title and escrow services, financial derivatives, and other types of smart contracts.

Bitcoin, Secure Ledgers, and Programmable Money

Saturday, March 21

9:00 am – 2:00 pm (include lunch)

Interactive Classroom (M11), Stanford Center at Peking University

This talk introduces the idea of a secure, digital ledger for tracking financial assets. Bitcoin is a leading example, but other architectures are also gaining traction. Applications and use cases include payments, remittances, and international settlement. The talk analyzes costs and benefits of introducing new currencies, and introduces a simple model of the exchange rate between fiat currencies and virtual currencies. This model is applied to Bitcoin data. Finally, we consider longer-term implications of the new technology, including the emerging applications of programmable money, such as title and escrow services, financial derivatives, and other types of smart contracts.

Event Agenda

9:00 – 9:30: Arrival and registration

9:30 – 9:35: Welcomes notes and speakers introduction

9:35 – 10:20: Prosser Athey’s talk (“Bitcoin, Secure Ledgers, and Programmable Money”) from Stanford

10:20- 11:05: Mr Liu Xiangmin’s talk (“Internet Finance in China: A Regulator’s Perspective”) from Beijing

11:10 -12:00: Mr. Darwin Tu’s talk (“Internet Finance in China: A Practitioner’s Perspective”) in Beijing

12:00 – 14:00: Lunch

About Speakers

Susan Athey, The Economics of Technology Professor, Professor of Economics (by courtesy), School of Humanities and Sciences, Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economics Policy Research

Susan Athey’s research is in the areas of industrial organization, microeconomic theory, and applied econometrics. Her current research focuses on the design of auction-based marketplaces and the economics of the internet, primarily on online advertising and the economics of the news media. She has also studied dynamic mechanisms and games with incomplete information, comparative statics under uncertainty, and econometric methods for analyzing auction models.

Xiangmin Liu Deputy Director-General Legal Department, People’s Bank of China

Xiangmin Liu has been Deputy Director-General of the Legal Department at the People’s Bank of China since 2009. Prior to his current post, Mr. Liu served as Director of Legal and Compliance at the National Social Security Fund and practiced corporate law with a major international law firm in New York and Boston. He was a Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University. Mr. Liu graduated from Peking University with a degree in economics and pursued his Ph.D. in political economy at Yale University. He obtained his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was Olin Fellow for Law, Economics and Public Policy and an editor of the Yale Journal on Regulation.

Darwin Tu, Founder, Chairman & CEO 51credit.com

Darwen Tu has a PhD in Economics from Renmin University of China, and two Master’s degrees in Statistics and Business Administration from Stanford University and University of California at Berkeley respectively. Mr. Tu started his career in 1993 at FICO Company where he developed the industry standard FICO Credit Bureau Scores for all three US credit bureaus. In 1999-2001, he served as Sr. Marketing Scientist for Digital Impact (part of Acxiom now). In 2001-2002, Mr. Tu was the first CEO of HDT Media which was later funded by Sequoia Capital and WPP. During 2003-2004, Mr. Tu was the Chief Consultant of Decision Products for the Greater China Region of Trans Union Advantage (TUA), providing credit risk management solutions for financial institutions in mainland and Hong Kong China. Mr. Tu found 51Credit in 2004 which has been the largest consumer credit portal in China providing online customer acquisition and leads generation for credit card, personal loan and P2P products for more than 30 leading Chinese banks and institutions.