George Samman

A report I have co-authored on DAOs can be downloaded here. The key feature that changed organizations over the years has been: reducing transaction costs to coordinate. This is reflected in Coase’s Theory of the Firm. You can achieve marginal improvements, such as applying decision support systems within an organization, but every once in a while, a large systemic change occurs that at first looks like a marginal benefit, but in essence enables wholly new types of organizations to exist.

Changpeng Zhao resigned as CTO of Chinese-based exchange OkCoin after being there for 9 months. (June 2014-February 2015)  Cointelegraph reached CZ for a comment on why he left OkCoin: “It’s really just a difference in direction. The differences became more apparent in the past couple of months, and we had a lot of discussions, but decided it was best to part ways.” This move comes as a surprise to many, seeming to come from nowhere.

China has grown into one of the world’s most significant sources of cryptocurrency mining. But, it is cracking down on the sector due to concerns about excessive energy usage. Until recently, China’s bitcoin mining industry flourished, with the country’s cheap labour, inexpensive electricity and chip manufacturing capabilities. But with the latest directive, that the Chinese government will ban ICOs and shutter bitcoin exchanges, mining cooperatives are seeing the benefits of operating elsewhere.