Cambridge University launches crypto research project with IMF and BIS

The University of Cambridge is collaborating with some of the world’s top banking institutions and private companies to introduce a new project targeting cryptocurrency research.

The Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, or CCAF, has launched a research initiative aiming to bring more insights on the rapidly growing digital asset industry, the CCAF announced to Cointelegraph on Monday.

Dubbed the Cambridge Digital Assets Programme, or CDAP, the project is a public-private collaboration with 16 companies including public institutions like the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub and the International Monetary Fund. The initiative also includes banks like Goldman Sachs, financial giants like Mastercard and Visa, and major exchange-traded fund providers like Invesco.

Other participants include British International Investment, Dubai International Financial Center, Ernst & Young, Fidelity, the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Inter-American Development Bank, London Stock Exchange Group, MSCI and the World Bank.

As its core mission, the CDAP intends to enable evidence-based public dialogue about the opportunities and risks associated with the growing cryptocurrency adoption. The program will be focused on three main areas including crypto’s environmental implications, infrastructure and digital assets, including stablecoins, central bank digital currencies and cryptocurrencies.

According to the announcement, the program builds on the CCAF’s existing work in the crypto industry, including the development of the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, CBECI. The CBECI is a widely-referenced index that provides the global Bitcoin (BTC) mining hash rate distribution percentage among countries.

Bitcoin mining map as of July 2021. Source: CCAF’s CBECI

Other CCAF’s crypto research developments include the Global Cryptoasset Benchmarking Study series, designed to address ecosystem trends, inform regulation and policy discussion, and other needs.

“The Cambridge Digital Assets Programme that we are launching today aims to meet the resulting need for greater clarity by providing data-driven insights through collaborative research involving public and private sector stakeholders,” CCAF executive director Bryan Zhang said.

According to CCAF digital assets lead Michel Rauchs, the CDAP will provide decision-makers with the objective analysis and empirical evidence that they need to navigate the digital assets industry.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, some global regulators have been increasingly concerned about risks associated with the lack of standardized and trusted data in the cryptocurrency industry. In mid-February, the Financial Stability Board warned that the crypto market lacks consistent and transparent data and its linkages with the core financial system, which poses a significant risk amid the rapid crypto adoption.