Opening Keynote: From Digital Gold to Programmable Finance – What Research Tells Us @VBW26

Vienna Blockchain Week 2026 – Opening Keynote From Digital Gold to Programmable Finance – What Research Tells Us In this opening keynote, Alfred Taudes, Managing Director of ABC Research, takes the audience on a journey through more than a decade of blockchain research. Starting with Bitcoin's emergence as a decentralized monetary system, the presentation explores how academic research helped explain Bitcoin's economic security, validate its role as a portfolio asset, and later expand the discussion toward smart contracts, DeFi, stablecoins, CBDCs, tokenization, and programmable finance. Key insights include: • Why Bitcoin's security is ultimately based on economic incentives rather than cryptography alone • Early academic evidence supporting Bitcoin as a portfolio diversification asset • The rise of Ethereum and smart contracts as the foundation for programmable finance • Mathematical models behind Automated Market Makers (AMMs) and DeFi protocols • Lessons learned from stablecoins, including the collapse of Terra/Luna • The future impact of MiCA regulation on European stablecoin markets • Digital Euro design challenges and programmable payment systems • Real-world tokenization projects and behavioral incentive systems • Privacy-enhancing blockchain technologies developed in academia • How universities contribute to innovation, critical thinking, and blockchain adoption A fascinating overview of how blockchain evolved from "digital gold" into a foundation for programmable financial infrastructure. Timeline 00:00 Introduction and blockchain research journey 01:03 First encounter with Bitcoin and the Nakamoto paper 02:07 Understanding Bitcoin's security model 03:14 Cryptoeconomics and why honest behavior wins 04:26 Academic proof of Bitcoin's economic equilibrium 05:31 Is Bitcoin a scam? Early portfolio research 06:40 Bitcoin as digital gold and institutional acceptance 07:35 Smart contracts, Ethereum, and the birth of Cryptoeconomics 08:43 Defining blockchain as a socio-technical system 09:48 DeFi and Automated Market Makers (AMMs) 10:54 Slippage, impermanent loss, and liquidity provider economics 11:59 Stablecoins and lessons from Terra/Luna 13:04 MiCA regulation and the future of European stablecoins 14:09 Digital Euro and CBDC design challenges 15:14 Programmable payments versus programmable money 16:22 Tokenization beyond financial assets 17:18 Cultural Token: Tokenized incentives for sustainable behavior 18:29 Behavioral economics and token incentive design 19:27 Public goods, cooperation, and blockchain-based reward systems 20:37 Privacy-preserving blockchain protocols and anonymous donations 21:41 The role of universities in blockchain innovation 22:15 Final thoughts: Don't trust, verify #ViennaBlockchainWeek #VBW2026 #Blockchain #Bitcoin #Ethereum #DeFi #Tokenization #DigitalAssets #Stablecoins #DigitalEuro #CBDC #ProgrammableFinance #Cryptoeconomics #Research #ABCResearch #Web3 #Fintech #Crypto #Austria #Vienna