Blockchain technology and smart contracts hold some promise for reinvigorating competition, providing more efficient and secure ways of doing business on the internet, while at the same time lifting the bar in data protection and privacy.

But is this new general purpose technology all that it’s made out to be? Will it challenge the power of the major digital platforms?  And what are the risks that blockchain itself will become concentrated and fall prey to anti-competitive conduct?

In this episode, Dr Thibault Schrepel, Assistant Professor at the Utrecht University School of Law, takes on these challenging questions. Much of the discussion assumes a basic understanding of blockchain technology. So for those who are fairly new to the topic, you may find it useful to listen first to our Blockchain primer in episode 23.

You can also find Thibault on his innovative website, Concurrentialiste, or follow him on Twitter @LeConcurrential, and I highly recommend his recent blockchain papers:

Is Blockchain the death of Antitrust Law? The Blockchain Antitrust Paradox, 2018

Collusion by Blockchain and Smart Contracts, 2019.

Featuring regular cut-through interviews with leading thinkers, movers and shakers, Competition Lore is a podcast series that engages us all in a debate about the transformative potential and risks of digitalised competition.

Join Caron Beaton-Wells, Professor in Competition Law at the University of Melbourne, to tackle what it means to participate as a competitor, consumer or citizen in a digital economy and society.

Competition Lore is produced by Written & Recorded.

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