1:1 Redemptions for Some, Not All
The Crucial Promise
Stablecoin issuers offer a simple proposition: send one dollar to the stablecoin issuer in exchange for a digital token that represents that dollar on a blockchain. That stablecoin, for example, can be used as a payment tool or a store of value, and the issuer promises to redeem it for a dollar later. This simple promise of 1:1 redemption, known as par-value exchange, is more complicated than many realize and depends on a series of assumptions.
“Incorporating Cryptographic Methods in Economics” at MIT-ILP’s NextGen Security Conference
On May 16, 2024, DCI collaborator Dan Aronoff presented a lecture at the MIT Industrial Liaison Program’s NextGen Security Conference entitled “Incorporating Cryptographic Methods in Economics.” DCI research scientist Madars Virza co-created the slide deck with Dan.
Self-Custody or Bust
Financial infrastructure has long centered on assets in which the spender does not actually hold custody. But self-custody isn’t an aberration ready to be disposed of; it’s a world of potential enhancement to human self-determination! Despite the dominance of intermediated, custodied, payment platforms and shrinking cash use, the rumors of self-custody's death are (hopefully) greatly exaggerated.
DCI Newsletter Issue #23 - January - April 2025
2025 marks a milestone year for the Digital Currency Initiative — our 10th anniversary. Founded in 2015, DCI began with a simple but ambitious mission: to advance open-source, neutral digital currency technologies that empower individuals. A decade in, that mission feels more vital than ever.
In this issue:
Our 10 year anniversary
New website launched
Special thanks to software engineer Sam Stuewe
And more...
A Decade of Digital Currency at MIT
A year ago I toured the gold vault beneath the New York Fed. You might recall it from the classic 1995 movie Die Hard with a Vengeance, but in case you aren’t familiar: It’s the world’s largest depository of monetary gold, storing over 6,000 tons 80 feet below Manhattan and protected by airtight vaults and its own police force.
The first thing I thought when I was down there was wow, gold is very shiny. The second was wow, gold bars are surprisingly heavy, in part because of its density (bars are 28 pounds). They make you wear metal shoe covers to hold one in case you drop it on your foot. But the third thing I thought is “THIS is what the global monetary system rests on? This is just so antiquated.”
USA Today’s The Excerpt interviews Neha
“There’s something to cold hard cash. You can hold it; you can smell it; it feels a certain way in your pocket. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump directed the Treasury Department to stop minting pennies. What happens as the world of currency goes increasingly digital? Will traditional currencies soon become a thing of the past? And who stands to benefit, and who might this rapid shift be hurting? Neha Narula, Director of the Digital Currency Initiative at the MIT Media Lab, joins The Excerpt to take a closer look at this transition period for money and how it might evolve.”
MIT DCI releases "Designing payment tokens for safety, integrity, interoperability and usability” with Kinexys by J.P. Morgan
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Digital Currency Initiative (MIT DCI) and Kinexys Digital Payments at J.P. Morgan collaborated on the research and development of a prototype for payment tokens on EVM-based blockchains. This research focuses on the additional capabilities required to meet compliance and regulatory requirements, identifies gaps in existing token standards and proposes two new sets of capabilities to address these gaps. Produced by a joint research team composed of staff from MIT DCI and Kinexys, this report captures the research journey and findings, serving as a valuable reference for the financial services ecosystem in their work on blockchain and tokenization.
PBS quotes Neha Narula on “memecoins”
In the up-and-down world of cryptocurrency, so-called meme coins are perhaps the most bewildering. The joke-inspired digital currency is all over the internet with new tokens popping up every day by the thousands. The value of some jumped thanks to viral trends or celebrity endorsements. But most never take off, crash or disappear. Economics correspondent Paul Solman reports.
Bitcoin Magazine interviews Neha Narula
“MIT DCI Director Neha Narula: How Academia Interacts With The Bitcoin Ecosystem
A talk with the director of DCI at MIT, Neha Narula, on the role academia plays in the Bitcoin ecosystem and how that might evolve over time.”
DCI Newsletter Issue #22 - October-December 2024
In this issue:
Two new Bitcoin Core developers: Wladimir returns and Sebastian joins us
New paper on privacy and the digital pound with the Bank of England released
Neha Narula selected for Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center Residency
Student researcher Ishaana Misra wins Chaincode’s inaugural Bitcoin Scholarship
And more...
Neha Narula selected for Rockefeller Foundation's 2025 Bellagio Center Residency
Neha Narula, Director of the MIT Digital Currency Initiative (DCI), has been selected for the Rockefeller Foundation's 2025 Bellagio Center Residency.
DCI Newsletter Issue #21 - July-September 2024
In this issue:
Neha Narula's keynote speech at AFT '24 in Vienna
BIS General Manager Agustín Carstens visits MIT
DCI Advisor Simon Johnson receives Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2024
And more...
Ledger Insights: “Digital Pound paper explores privacy enhancing technologies for CBDC”
“In the West there has been significant resistance to the concept of retail central bank digital currencies (CBDC) based on ‘Big Brother’ concerns. In other words, privacy fears that the government can monitor personal payment transactions. Or sometimes, even concerns that they might attempt to control behaviors. Hence, the Bank of England and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Digital Currency Initiative (MIT DCI) published a paper exploring privacy enhancing technologies (PETs) for a possible digital pound.”
MIT DCI releases "Enhancing the Privacy of a Digital Pound" with the Bank of England
As innovation in electronic payments accelerates, privacy considerations are becoming ever more important. While the generation and use of data is an intrinsic part of electronic payments and can benefit consumers and businesses, it may also present privacy concerns, particularly if there are not sufficient safeguards.
MIT DCI Hosts a Fireside Chat with Dr. Agustín Carstens, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements
Why does innovation in financial services matter to everyone, and how can the public sector support its advancement? On Thursday, September 26, MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative was privileged to host a visit and fireside chat at the Media Lab on these questions and on the future of money with Dr. Agustín Carstens, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland.
DCI Newsletter Issue #20 - April-June 2024
In this issue:
New student thesis on mitigating undercutting attacks in Bitcoin
2024 MIT Bitcoin Expo roundup
Final issue of the Cryptoeconomic Systems journal and the journal’s new publisher
New papers and collaborations shared
And more...
DCI Newsletter Special Issue - Madars Virza wins IEEE Test of Time Award
DCI’s Madars Virza wins a test-of-time award at IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy
Madars Virza SM '14, PhD '17, a Research Scientist at the MIT Media Lab's Digital Currency Initiative (DCI), is the recipient of an IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy Test of Time Award for “Zerocash: Decentralized Anonymous Payments from Bitcoin,” a paper he co-authored in 2014.
Special Announcement: Madars Virza awarded at IEEE Symposium
Madars Virza SM '14, PhD '17, a Research Scientist at the MIT Media Lab's Digital Currency Initiative (DCI), is the recipient of an IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy Test of Time Award for “Zerocash: Decentralized Anonymous Payments from Bitcoin,” a paper he co-authored in 2014.
DCI Newsletter Issue #19 - January-March 2024
In this issue:
Bitcoin Fridays
New collaboration announced
Engineering for privacy in central banks
New faces at the DCI
And more!
MIT DCI launches collaboration with researchers at Deutsche Bundesbank
On April 16, Dr. Joachim Nagel, President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, the central bank of Germany, visited the MIT Media Lab. There, he announced this new collaboration between the Bundesbank and the DCI for central bank digital currency design research.