Abstract
“Quantitative Finance has been revolutionized by issues such as counterparty risk and capital costs, at the same time as traditional finance was challenged in several areas. In this seminar we explore how the solution to such issues could lie in technological innovation. We analyze how the internet has some weaknesses as a network for the exchange of value, and how such weaknesses are addressed by blockchain via cryptography, distributed ledgers and consensus algorithms. We introduce and explain smart contracts and we see how they can be used in the derivative business, in the design of financial market infrastructures, and in much more efficient forms of collateralization”