Digital Assets: Pricing, Allocation and Regulation

Call for Chapters

1. Introduction

The last decade has witnessed a change of paradigm in the landscape of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. Investors no longer resort to digital assets for speculative purposes only; they also exploit their inherent utilities along with their perceived ability to hedge the risks associated with standard financial assets. This is particularly relevant in post-COVID times: in the near future, high quantitative easing and depressed demand may point to a phase of potential stagflation and digital assets may be seen as a cheaper, more liquid, and transparent safe haven compared to other asset classes.

The inclusion of new digital assets, especially cryptocurrencies, in portfolios of standard financial assets such as commodities, forex, stock & bonds to enhance diversification has been studied to evaluate the potential impact and the overall portfolio performance, as well as to determine optimal allocation strategies. Yet, both the theoretical and practical implications of this new trend have not been fully understood. 

The purpose of this Call for Chapters is to further deepen the understanding of the complex inter-relations between standard and digital assets in constructing mixed-portfolio strategies.

The standard theory of asset valuation does not fully apply to the case of those new digitally native assets. One reason may be related to the fact that most existing cryptocurrencies, like gold and other commodities, do not represent a liability associated with any identifiable entity. Therefore, another goal of this collection would be to put forward a robust research agenda aimed at understanding the fundamental drivers of the value of cryptocurrencies. For instance, the applications of a cryptocurrency may impact its demand and chances of mainstream adoption in the future, which in turn feedbacks into the fundamental price of the asset. 

This Call for Chapters hence also targets research studies on valuation and pricing of digital assets in general, and cryptocurrencies in particular.

 Large institutions, including commercial banks and central banks are also looking at the distributed ledger technologies to issue their version of private and less volatile digital currencies. Sandbox implementations of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are underway to test the impact on global financial stability, monetary policies, and financial inclusion. This trend is challenging current legal and regulatory frameworks around the world. Indeed, new types of borderless assets require new types of regulation. Therefore, examining the numerous ways in which various jurisdictions are approaching digital assets can illuminate best practices going forward. 

This Call for Chapters also welcomes studies on government responses and regulatory reactions towards new digital assets, including the setting of new legal frameworks.

2. Target Audience

The target audience of this book will be composed of researchers, industry practitioners and policy makers working in the areas of cryptocurrency, digital assets, blockchain economics, portfolio management, asset valuation, and data analytics.

The book also seeks to benefit professionals from the field of monetary policy and financial economics.

3. Recommended Topics / Book Structure

The book attempts to cover the following topics:

Cryptocurrency valuation

• Asset pricing for cryptocurrencies
• Technical analysis of cryptocurrencies
• Cryptomarket microstructure

Portfolio optimisation with cryptocurrencies 

• Quantitative and qualitative analysis of “real” yield in a cryptocurrency-only portfolio
• Optimization of crypto-only portfolios
• Diversification of traditional portfolios with cryptocurrencies

Digital assets and decentralized finance

• Decentralized financial products and services
• The DeFi economy

Regulations of digital assets

• Overview of existing regulations 
• Regulatory change outlook

Cryptocurrency economics and monetary policies (especially in the post-COVID times)

• Central bank digital currencies
• Post-COVID economic outlook with cryptocurrencies

4. Submission Procedure

Please submit at https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=dapar20

5. Editorial Guidelines

The chapter proposal must be submitted as an extended abstract (max. 800 words) in PDF format using the Easychair link. 

The proposals will be blind reviewed by the Reviewing Committee and you will be notified via email.

All papers must be original and not simultaneously submitted to another journal or conference.

For call related enquiries please contact the following: blockchain-cfp@ucl.ac.uk

6. Important Dates

• ​​​​Start of Call for Chapters: October 1, 2020
• Proposal Submission Deadline: January 31, 2020
• Notification on Proposals: February 15, 2021 (Extended to February 18)
• Full Chapter Submission Deadline: June 30, 2021
• Camera-ready Deadline: September 30, 2021