If use of cash continues to wane, will cryptocurrency be the new dollar bill? Is it a revolution or just hype? Economists Eric Budish and Luigi Zingales join blockchain experts to help explain how Bitcoin functions and its implications for the future of money.

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Podcasts episode·Apr 1, 2025

Crypto’s Fatal Flaw: Trust, Scale, and the Economics of Blockchain

Tess Vigeland and Eric Budish
Crypto’s most groundbreaking innovation, permissionless consensus, may also be its greatest vulnerability. In this episode, Chicago Booth economist Eric Budish breaks down the core mechanics of blockchain trust, the staggering energy costs behind mining, and why these systems are fundamentally...
Topics: Financial Markets, Technology & Innovation
Research Briefs·Sep 4, 2024

What Middle-Income Countries Can Learn from America’s Innovation System

Somik Lall and Ufuk Akcigit
The American model of innovation has long been the envy of the world. From the garage tinkerers of Silicon Valley to the research labs of prestigious universities, the United States has consistently churned out groundbreaking technologies that have reshaped industries...
Topics: Technology & Innovation
Podcasts episode·Jul 3, 2024

Using Cellphone Data to Observe Religious Worship in the United States

Tess Vigeland and Devin Pope
Using Cellphone Data to Observe Religious Worship in the United States What do location data from roughly 2.1 million cellphones say about religiosity in the United States? In this episode of The Pie, Devin Pope, Professor of Economics and Behavioral...
Topics: Technology & Innovation