CBER | Annual Conference

Past Conferences

5th Annual [CBER] Conference

June 12, 2025 · New York University, New York, NY, USA

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations

Centralized Governance in Decentralized Organizations
- Lin William Cong, Cornell University
- Daniel Rabetti, National University of Singapore
- Charles Wang, Harvard University
- Yu Yan, National University of Singapore
Discussant: Jillian Grennan, Emory University
How Do Shareholder Defaults Influence Corporate Governance?
- Tim Dong, University of Tennessee
- Valerie Laturnus, Durham University
- Hao Zhang, Rochester Institute of Technology
Discussant: Alfred Lehar, University of Calgary

Centralized Governance in DAOs

Shareholder Defaults in DeFi

Special Session: Rollups

Optimistic RollupsJoshua Gutow, Uniswap Labs
ZK RollupsBenedikt Bünz, NYU

Optimistic Rollups

ZK Rollups

Digital Assets

A Theory Model of Digital Currency with Asymmetric Privacy
- Katrin Tinn, McGill University
Discussant: Charles Kahn, University of Illinois
Incentives and Reputation in Liquid Restaking Protocols
- Boyang Mu, Ecole Polytechnique
- Julien Prat, Ecole Polytechnique
- Natkamon Tovanich, Ecole Polytechnique
Discussant: Tarun Chitra, Gauntlet

Digital Currency with Asymmetric Privacy

Liquid Restaking Protocols

Keynote: Urban Jermann (University of Pennsylvania)

Special Session: Interoperability

Cross Chain Messaging and InteroperabilityBen Fisch, Yale University
Cross Chain SwapsBrad Bachu, Uniswap Labs

Cross-chain Messaging

Cross-chain Swaps

Structural Cryptoeconomics

A Structural Model of Automated Market Making
- David Cao, University of Pennsylvania
- Brett Falk, University of Pennsylvania
- Leonid Kogan, MIT
- Gerry Tsoukalas, Boston University
Discussant: Matthieu Bouvard, Toulouse School of Economics
Structural Estimation of MEV-Boost Auctions
- Mallesh Pai, Rice University
- Tivas Gupta, Consensys
- Max Resnick, Consensys
- Xun Tang, Rice University
Discussant: Evgeny Lyandres, Tel Aviv University

Structural Model of AMMs

MEV-Boost Auctions

Fireside Chat: Michael Selig (SEC Crypto Task Force)

Awards

5th Annual CBER Conference Best Paper Award“A Theory Model of Digital Currency with Asymmetric Privacy” by Katrin TinnSponsored by the FinTech at Cornell Initiative
Ripple-DEFT Lab 5th Annual CBER Conference Best Discussant AwardJillian GrennanSponsored by the FinTech at Cornell Initiative

4th Annual [CBER] Conference

May 23, 2024 · New York University, New York, NY, USA

Empirical Cryptoeconomics

How do Crypto Scams Funnel Funds? The Economics of Pig Butchering and Slavery
- John M. Griffin, University of Texas
- Kevin Mei, University of Texas
Discussant: Katya Malinova, McMaster University
A Study of the Reliability of Crypto Data Provision
- Gustavo Schwenkler, Santa Clara University
- Aakash Shah, Indicia Labs
- Darren Yang, Indicia Labs
Discussant: Donghwa Shin, University of North Carolina

dApps and DeFi

Decentralization vs. Blockchain Neutrality: The Unequal Burden of Ethereum's Market Mechanism on dApps
- Hanna Halaburda, NYU Stern
- Daniel Obermeier, NYU Stern
Discussant: Luyao Zhang, Duke Kunshan University
Why DeFi Lending? Evidence from Aave V2
- Giulio Cornelli, BIS
- Leonardo Gambacorta, BIS
- Rodney Garratt, BIS
- Alessio Reghezza, European Central Bank
Discussant: Anthony Zhang, University of Chicago

Keynote: Maureen O'Hara (Cornell University)

Ethereum Foundation Session

Ethereum Consensus: Proof-of-Stake, Staking Incentives and GasperCaspar Schwarz-Schilling, Ethereum Foundation
Beyond the Protocol: Proposer-Builder-Separation and RelaysBarnabé Monnot, Ethereum Foundation
LSTs and LRTs: Is Restaking the new Staking?Michael Neuder, Ethereum Foundation

Ethereum Consensus

PBS and Relays

Restaking

Economics of Maximal Extractable Value

Proposer-Builder Separation, Payment for Order Flows, and Centralization in Blockchain
- Agostino Capponi, Columbia University
- Ruizhe Jia, Columbia University
- Sveinn Olafsson, Stevens Institute of Technology
Discussant: Zhiguo He, Stanford University
Suboptimality in DeFi
- Aviv Yaish, The Hebrew University
- Maya Dotan, The Hebrew University
- Kaihua Qin, Imperial College London
- Aviv Zohar, The Hebrew University
- Arthur Gervais, University College London
Discussant: Jiasun Li, George Mason University

Fireside Chat: Summer K. Mersinger (CFTC Commissioner)

Awards

4th Annual CBER Conference Best Paper Award“Suboptimality in DeFi” by Aviv Yaish, Maya Dotan, Kaihua Qin, Aviv Zohar and Arthur GervaisSponsored by the FinTech at Cornell Initiative
Ripple-DEFT Lab 4th Annual CBER Conference Best Discussant AwardJiasun LiSponsored by the FinTech at Cornell Initiative

3rd Annual [CBER] Conference

May 5–6, 2023 · Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

Day 1 – May 5

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations

Collusion-Proof Oracles for Decentralized Autonomous Organizations
- Alexander Braun, University of St. Gallen
- Niklas Haeusle, University of St. Gallen
Discussant: Andrea Canidio, IMT School for Advanced Studies and CoW Protocol
The Economics of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations
- Valerie Laturnus, Goethe University
Discussant: Deeksha Gupta, Johns Hopkins University

Keynote: Eswar Prasad (Cornell University)

Decentralized Finance: A Practitioner's Panel

Nathan Allman, Ondo
Matt Cushman, Ajna
Gordon Liao, Circle
Aseem Sood, Uniswap

Perspectives and Regulations of Digital Finance Panel

Mohamad AL-Bustami, OSFI
Francesca Carapella, Fed
Michael J. Lee, NY Fed
Valerie Szczepanik, SEC

Inaugural CBER-Circle Insight Award

Flash Boys 2.0: Frontrunning, Transaction Reordering, and Consensus Instability in Decentralized ExchangesAri Juels, Philip Daian, Steven Goldfeder, Tyler Kell, et al.

Day 2 – May 6

Digital Payments

Money, Credit and Anonymity
- Remo Taudien, Swiss National Bank
- Fabienne Schneider, Swiss National Bank
Discussant: Katrin Tinn, McGill University
Lightning Network Economics: Topology
- Paolo Guasoni, Dublin City University
- Gur Huberman, Columbia University
- Clara Shikhelman, Chaincode
Discussant: Brett Falk, University of Pennsylvania

Decentralized Finance

Interest Rate Parity in Decentralized Finance
- Amit Chaudhary, Polygon
- Roman Kozhan, University of Warwick
- Ganesh Viswanath Natraj, University of Warwick
Discussant: Quentin Vandeweyer, University of Chicago
Battle of the Bots: Flash Loans, Miner Extractable Value and Efficient Settlement
- Alfred Lehar, University of Calgary
- Christine Parlour, UC Berkeley
Discussant: Joel Hasbrouck, NYU Stern

Keynote: Tobias Adrian (International Monetary Fund)

Awards

3rd Annual CBER Conference Best Paper Award“Battle of the Bots: Flash Loans, Miner Extractable Value and Efficient Settlement” by Alfred Lehar and Christine ParlourSponsored by the FinTech at Cornell Initiative
Ripple-DEFT Lab 3rd Annual CBER Conference Best Discussant AwardQuentin VandeweyerSponsored by the FinTech at Cornell Initiative

2nd Annual [CBER] Conference

May 13, 2022 · Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

Session 1

Coexisting Exchange Platforms: Limit Order Books and Automated Market Makers
- Jun Aoyagi, HKUST
- Yuki Ito, UC Berkeley
Discussant: Katya Malinova, McMaster University
The Evolution of Blockchain: from Lit to Dark
- Agostino Capponi, Columbia University
- Ruizhe Jia, Columbia University
- Ye Wang, ETH Zurich
Discussant: Chaojun Wang, University of Pennsylvania

LOBs and AMMs

From Lit to Dark

Session 2

Security-Cost Efficiency of Competing Proof-of-Work Cryptocurrencies
- Kohei Kawaguchi, HKUST
- Shunya Noda, University of Tokyo
Discussant: Katrin Tinn, McGill University
Lightning Network Economics: Channels
- Paolo Guasoni, Dublin City University
- Gur Huberman, Columbia University
- Clara Shikhelman, Chaincode
Discussant: Jiasun Li, George Mason University

PoW Security-Cost

Lightning Network

Keynote: Antoinette Schoar (MIT Sloan)

Session 3

Investor Experience Matters: Evidence from Generative Art Collections on the Blockchain
- Sebeom Oh, Temple University
- Samuel Rosen, Temple University
- Anthony Lee Zhang, University of Chicago
Discussant: Alfred Lehar, University of Calgary
Decentralized Stablecoins and Collateral Risk
- Roman Kozhan, University of Warwick
- Ganesh Viswanath-Natraj, University of Warwick
Discussant: Simon Mayer, University of Chicago and HEC Paris

Generative Art Collections

Stablecoins & Collateral

Keynote: J. Christopher Giancarlo (former CFTC Chairman)

Awards

2nd Annual CBER Conference Best Paper Award“The Evolution of Blockchain: from Lit to Dark” by Agostino Capponi, Ruizhe Jia and Ye WangSponsored by Broadridge, Fiserv, Moody's, and TATA Consulting Services
2nd Annual CBER Conference Best Discussant AwardAlfred Lehar and Jiasun LiSponsored by Broadridge, Fiserv, Moody's, and TATA Consulting Services

1st Annual [CBER] Conference

April 16–17, 2021 · University of Toronto and Cornell University, Zoom

Day 1 – April 16

Full Day 1 Recording

Cryptocurrency Forensics

Crypto Wash Trading
- Lin William Cong, Cornell University
- Xi Li, University of Newcastle
- Ke Tang, Tsinghua University
- Yang Yang, Tsinghua University
Discussant: Deeksha Gupta, Carnegie Mellon University
Increased Transparency of the Global Financial System: Evidence from Terrorist Attacks Financing Detection
- Dan Amiram, Tel Aviv University
- Bjorn Jorgensen, Copenhagen Business School
- Daniel Rabetti, Tel Aviv University
Discussant: Andrew Wu, University of Michigan

Keynote: Campbell Harvey (Duke University)

Blockchain and Money

Permissioned Distributed Ledgers and the Governance of Money
- Raphael Auer, BIS
- Cyril Monnet, University of Bern
- Hyun Song Shin, BIS
Discussant: Aleksander Berentsen, University of Basel
Central Bank Digital Currency: When Price and Bank Stability Collide
- Linda Schilling, Ecole Polytechnique
- Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, University of Pennsylvania
- Harald Uhlig, University of Chicago
Discussant: Katrin Tinn, McGill University

Day 2 – April 17

Full Day 2 Recording (Cornell VOD)

Beyond Bitcoin

To Infinity and Beyond: Financing Platforms with Uncapped Crypto Tokens
- Rowena Gan, Southern Methodist University
- Gerry Tsoukalas, University of Pennsylvania
- Serguei Netessine, University of Pennsylvania
Discussant: Yao Cui, Cornell University
(R)Evolution in Entrepreneurial Finance? The Relationship between Cryptocurrency and Venture Capital Markets
- Kirill Shakhnov, University of Surrey
- Luana Zaccaria, Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance
Discussant: Evgeny Lyandres, Tel Aviv University

Mining and Welfare

When Cryptomining Comes to Town: High Electricity-Use Spillovers to the Local Economy
- Matteo Benetton, UC Berkeley
- Giovanni Compiani, University of Chicago
- Adair Morse, UC Berkeley
Discussant: Hanna Halaburda, New York University
StableFees: A Predictable Fee Market for Cryptocurrencies
- Soumya Basu, Cornell University
- David Easley, Cornell University
- Maureen O'Hara, Cornell University
- Emin Gün Sirer, Cornell University
Discussant: Marius Zoican, University of Toronto

Keynote: Elaine Shi (Carnegie Mellon University)

Awards

1st Annual CBER Conference Best Paper Award“Crypto Wash Trading” by Lin William Cong, Xi Li, Ke Tang and Yang YangSponsored by Broadridge, Fiserv, Moody's, and TATA Consulting Services
1st Annual CBER Conference Best Paper Award“StableFees: A Predictable Fee Market for Cryptocurrencies” by Soumya Basu, David Easley, Maureen O'Hara and Emin Gün SirerSponsored by Broadridge, Fiserv, Moody's, and TATA Consulting Services
1st Annual CBER Conference Best Discussant AwardEvgeny Lyandres and Andrew WuSponsored by Broadridge, Fiserv, Moody's, and TATA Consulting Services