Playing with Money - Game-Theoretic Analysis of Blockchain Security

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are a new form of money, distinct from cash, precious metals, and payment apps. Their existence is due to a breakthrough in the study of distributed systems security, presented in Nakamoto's seminal Bitcoin paper. The central novelty is the utilization of incentives to secure a large-scale open system, which anyone can join. This talk will discuss the blockchain mechanism that enables cryptocurrency security, when it fails, and how to reason about it with game-theoretic tools.