| Notes | THE BUSINESS OF BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTOCURRENCY Distributed ledgers (i.e. blockchain technology) can be described as a new method of recording and storing information. A ledger is a place where events such as payments, land sale deeds, marriages and births, or any other transactions are recorded. Usually, a single central authority like a government or bank decides what goes on the ledger. Distributed ledgers rely on a network of nodes to come to a consensus on whether events can be added to the ledger. This is a disruptive concept, because it allows parties who don't trust each other to transact and collaborate, creating a trust-less system of data and value transfer between users without the need of a central authority. Blockchain technology is used in many applications today, from digital currencies, smart contract platforms, or data storage, supply chain, healthcare, digital identity, and many other applications. The University of Texas Blockchain Initiative has three main goals: (i) to support faculty and graduate students research on blockchain across colleges at the University of Texas at Austin; (ii) to teach students the main concepts related to blockchain, cryptocurrency, and digital payments; (iii) to be the hub of knowledge for external relations with industry practitioners, policymakers, and media. NEWS FACULTY ADVISORY BOARD Meet the faculty on the board of the University of Texas Blockchain Initiative. Cesare Fracassi Director of the Blockchain Initiative Associate Professor of Finance Tejwansh Anand Clinical Professor of IROM Carlos Colon-Vonarx Co-President, Graduate Blockchain Society Shalin Gadhavi President, Texas Blockchain Mira Ganor Judge Solomon Casseb, Jr. Research Professor in Law Anjum Khurshid Director of Data Integration, Dell Medical School Prabhudev Konana Thomas O. Hicks Chair Professor in Business Eric Meyer Dean, School of Information Doug Morrice Bobbie and Coulter R. Sublett Centennial Professor in Business Laura Starks Charles E. & Sarah M. Seay Regents’ Chair in Finance Sriram Vishwanath Raytheon Fellowship Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering |