Time: Saturday, 5 November, 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM (IST)

In Conversation:

1. Professor Alex Tabarrok
Bartley J. Madden Chair in Economics at the Mercatus Center
George Mason University
Co-founder, Marginal Revolution University

2. Professor Sankarshan Basu
Dean, Amrut Mody School of Management
Ahmedabad University


Abstract:

The financial system of the world revolves around traditional institutions such as banks, stock markets, and regulatory authorities. These institutions keep the wheels of the economy in motion. This architecture provides core financial services and achieves regulatory goals such as tax reporting, anti-money-laundering laws, and consumer financial protection. This system is being challenged. Decentralised finance (DeFi) proposes replacing the central gatekeepers, by empowering decentralised participants, using cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, to manage financial transactions. DeFi aims to democratise finance by replacing legacy, centralised institutions with peer-to-peer relationships. This has raised concerns from several countries, especially India, regarding the legitimacy of DeFi.

Is decentralised finance a legitimate system that provides a level playing field? Can the financial system survive without regulations? What will be the future of DeFi and its impact on the world economy?

Our speaker is an economist and the co-author of a popular economics blog, Marginal Revolution. He will explain how the new world of decentralised finance works. He will also argue why it is or isn’t essential to learn about these peer-to-peer transactions and their impact on the economy.