Corporate Governance and Blockchains

David Yermack

No 21802, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Blockchains represent a novel application of cryptography and information technology to ag-eold problems of financial record-keeping, and they may lead to far-reaching changes in corporate governance. Many major players in the financial industry have began to invest in this new technology, and stock exchanges have proposed using blockchains as a new method for trading corporate equities and tracking their ownership. This essay evaluates the potential implications of these changes for managers, institutional investors, small shareholders, auditors, and other parties involved in corporate governance. The lower cost, greater liquidity, more accurate record-keeping, and transparency of ownership offered by blockchains may significantly upend the balance of power among these cohorts.

JEL-codes: G20 G3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-acc and nep-cfn
Note: CF LE
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Published as David Yermack; Corporate Governance and Blockchains, Review of Finance, Volume 21, Issue 1, 1 March 2017, Pages 7–31, https://doi.org/10.1093/rof/rfw074

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