The Blockchain and the New Architecture of Trust

However, Werbach argues, the most significant innovation of blockchain is not governmental or even technological but emotional: the creation of ‘a new form of trust,’ in which you put your confidence in a store of information without relying on any single person to authenticate it — trust the system, not its parts. The outstanding question is whether this method of cultivating trust is viable, and if it is, in what ways we can best deploy it. The answers we come up with are likely to determine blockchain’s future. ~New York Times Book Review

Kevin Werbach writes with great clarity and insight about the powerful blend of social, technical and legal components that provide the architecture of trust underlying blockchain. Combined in the right way these components provide a wide set of capabilities in a surprisingly wide set of circumstances. This elegant analysis is sure to become a classic and will change how individuals, guilds, organizations and governments invent new kinds of institutions and institutional architectures for our fast moving, radically contingent networked world. I highly recommend this paradigm shifting book. ~John Seely Brown, Co- author The Social Life of Information (HBS Press, 2000 & 2017) and Design Unbound – designing for emergence in a white water world (MIT Press, 2018), Former Chief Scientist, Xerox Corp. and Former Director of its Palo Alto Rese

Forget the hype – read this book! With his eloquence and insightfulness, Kevin Werbach made me realize why blockchain truly matters, and the ways it will alter how we transact in business and as consumers. A truly indispensable guide! ~Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, Professor of Internet Governance, University of Oxford and co-author of Reinventing Capitalism in the Age of Big Data

In a world where Blockchain has become the new buzzword du jour, Werbach is balanced and thoughtful describing the opportunities, challenges and the underlying technical and social issues. He uses easy-to-read examples and explanations accessible to newcomers but worth reading for even seasoned experts to better understand this important phenomenon. ~Joi Ito, Director of the MIT Media Lab and cofounder of the Digital Currency Initiative, MIT

Who rules the blockchain? Everyone, and no one, and lawyers, too. The Blockchain and the New Architecture of Trust is a tour de force tour of the hidden layers of power and politics that make blockchains work. Werbach makes a compelling case for taking blockchain governance seriously. ~James Grimmelmann, Professor of Law, Cornell Tech and Cornell Law School