Trends & Signals
Blockchain
Explore the latest insights, thought leadership, and research from FCAT®
An Overview of Ethereum Staking
March 28, 2023
Staking is the process of supporting transaction verifications and new block creation for the Ethereum network. Validators, otherwise known as ‘stakers’ play a key role in performing key staking duties: storing data, processing transactions...
The Path to Blockchain-Based Financial Markets
March 16, 2023
Fintech’s Third Wave—the use of tokenization and smart contracts to rebuild the infrastructure, processes, and business models underlying fiat money and traditional assets—is well underway. The transition to this blockchain-based infrastructure for...
Decentralized Finance is Growing Up
January 27, 2023
Introduction Decentralized Finance (DeFi) was one of the first applications of blockchain technology to provide a real use case in the industry. Borrowing
Meet the Hosts: Jason Ward
January 17, 2023
Jason Ward didn’t need to take on the booms, busts, structural complexities, regulatory uncertainty, and energy-consumption concerns of the blockchain and its attendant technologies. He wanted to.
The State of Enterprise Blockchain Adoption
January 13, 2023
Why even use a private blockchain, wouldn’t a database suffice? It’s a question that’s colored most enterprise technology inquiries surrounding blockchain infrastructure adoption since Bitcoin launched in 2009. And it’s even more timely now as both...
Commitment After Collapse: Code Contributions in the Terra Ecosystem
October 10, 2022
Before its historic collapse, Terra became one of the highest valued crypto ecosystems with a strong community of developers. But with a relaunched chain and a damaged reputation, are these developers still committed? An analysis of GitHub code...
A Timely Review of Bitcoin Narratives, Performance, and Trends
September 16, 2022
Bitcoin’s revolutionary design offers a new approach for financial inclusion, distributed ownership, and enforced scarcity. As it has grown in value, however, new narratives surrounding bitcoin’s utility have also emerged. A rocky performance...
Web3: The Tokenized Web
August 10, 2022
Built on public blockchains, Web3 aims to diminish single point of failure risk and afford users more opportunity to be fairly compensated for their contributions. It’s only beginning to emerge, but once fully operational, Web3 has the potential to...
DAOs: What Are They Good For?
May 5, 2022
Over the past year Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) have emerged as a much hyped yet intriguing new way to organize communities online. Owned and run by their users, these digital-native collectives operate transparently via smart...
Behind the Scenes: The Intersection of Art and Technology
February 1, 2022
FCAT’s Luke Paxton and Kseniya Galper are responsible for the unique artwork accompanying this year’s Priorities Report, created using digital and physical techniques. The results of their collaboration will be included in a set of limited edition...