Big Tech & Enterprise Solutions
Required Readings:
‘Responses of Big Tech’ MIT Cryptocurrency Online Short Course (as adapted, August 2019)
‘Examining Facebook’s Proposed Cryptocurrency and Its Impact on Consumers, Investors, and the
American Financial System’ Gary Gensler (July 17, 2019)
‘Blockchain As A Service: Enterprise-Grade BaaS Solutions’ 101 Blockchains (April 22, 2019)
‘Google Integrates Cryptocurrency Project with New Smart Contract Tool’ Forbes (June 13, 2019)
Optional Readings:
‘Amazon Tackles Centralized and Decentralized Blockchain Solutions’ Forbes (July 11, 2019)
‘Building hybrid blockchain/cloud applications with Ethereum and Google Cloud’ Google Cloud (June
13, 2019)
‘Telegram’s $1.7 billion problem coming in October — KYC/AML on Gram tokens’ David Gerard (July
28, 2019)
‘Facebook Congressional Hearing Oral Statement’ Gary Gensler (July 17, 2019)
Study Questions/Issues to Prepare:
1) Why are so many of the world’s leading messaging companies exploring or offering crypto tokens?
2) What do the big tech firms’ Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) offerings tell you about the viability and
value propositions of blockchain technology in general?
3) Will Facebook’s Libra and Telegram’s TON projects be successful? If so, what might the success of
Libra or Gram tokens mean for money and commerce?