Defining the future of decentralized economics: mapping a moving target

Roman Beck

A chapter in Elgar Encyclopedia of Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain and DLT, 2026, pp 1-4 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In just over a decade, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) have evolved from niche experiments into foundational infrastructures of digital finance and governance. Yet, the field's rapid pace has produced profound terminological confusion, where words like “token,” “decentralization,” and “smart contract” lack shared meaning across disciplines. This encyclopedia project seeks to provide conceptual clarity and historical grounding amid this semantic volatility. It offers curated, peer-reviewed, and context-rich definitions that bridge technical, economic, legal, and philosophical perspectives. Rather than fixing meanings, it documents their evolution, mapping how technologies, ideologies, and institutions co-shape one another. By promoting “slow thinking” in a fast domain, the encyclopedia establishes an intellectual scaffold for interdisciplinary understanding and responsible innovation. It aspires not only to describe the blockchain ecosystem but to enable coherent dialogue across communities shaping its trajectory.

Keywords: Blockchain; Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT); Cryptocurrencies; Web3; Terminology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035339952
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