• Fintech / Digital Currencies

Just getting started learning about blockchain? This primer from DI professor, Karim Lakhani is the place to start. In this HBR Whiteboard Session, Professor Lakhani explains how the blockchain works and why we should care. Finally, Lakhani provides a brief roadmap for leaders looking to implement the promising technology within their own organizations.

• Digital Infrastructure

Despite its centrality to the functioning of society, the technology that governs contracts, transactions, and record keeping has not kept up with the digital transformation of the economy. Blockchain, however, has the potential to change all that – that is, if it can overcome multiple barriers to adoption. This article from professors Marco Iansiti and Karim Lakhani highlights what it would really take for blockchain to become the revolutionary technology everyone hopes it will be.

• Fintech / Digital Currencies

Cryptocurrency certainly has its appeal. The lack of middle men or local regulatory bodies make it an efficient transaction method, and many in the finance industry now see digital currencies as the natural and unavoidable future. But is the new technology worth the hype? Professor Emeritus James Haskett takes a look back at the meteoric rise of another trend in finance – hedge funds – and determines that the answer is ‘maybe’.

• Fintech / Digital Currencies

In a way, 2017 was the year of the ICO. 2017 saw over 700 initial coin offerings with almost $5 billion raised according to ICO Data (compared with less than $1 billion in 2016). It is no surprise then that this fundraising phenomenon has left the finance world and VC firms in particular with a lot to talk about. This article from Harvard Business Review highlights some of the advantages and disadvantages of this disruptive new fundraising tactic.

• Platforms & Crowds

Blockchain is one of a handful of technologies poised to transform a multitude of industries, and yet its promise remains relatively unrealized. However, HBS alumnus Yezi Peng (MBA 2017) thinks that the blockchain platform Ethereum might just have the power to usher blockchain into widespread usage.

• Fintech / Digital Currencies

With a finance empire spanning mobile/online payments, wealth management, digital-first banking, credit scoring, and yes, cryptocurrencies, Ant Financial is one of the most influential fintech companies in the world. This case from DI professor Feng Zhu on how Ant Financial has managed its growth strategy is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the current state of fintech innovation today.

• Fintech / Digital Currencies

Thanks to the rise of big data and algorithmic solutions coupled with millennial preferences, robo-advisers are disrupting the personal investment industry. Professor Luis Viceira describes how Wealthfront has successfully utilized a tech-focused strategy to grow their assets to over $3.7 billion. Just how good are the opportunities in fintech and personal investing? Good enough that even mainstream investment firms are starting to decrease their fees and add robo-funds to their product lines to compete with startups like Wealthfront.