Re-engineering trust is the highest-order value proposition of blockchains. It sits far above transaction throughput, latency, or fee revenue—metrics that are easy to measure but relatively easy to replicate. Speed can be optimized. Fees can be subsidized. Trust cannot. Trust is the hardest problem in economic coordination. Modern systems rely on layers of intermediaries—banks, clearinghouses, custodians, auditors, courts—to substitute for trust between parties. These layers are expensive, sl...

Re-engineering trust is the highest-order value proposition of blockchains. It sits far above transaction throughput, latency, or fee revenue—metrics that are easy to measure but relatively easy to replicate. Speed can be optimized. Fees can be subsidized. Trust cannot. Trust is the hardest problem in economic coordination. Modern systems rely on layers of intermediaries—banks, clearinghouses, custodians, auditors, courts—to substitute for trust between parties. These layers are expensive, sl...