TWC: Large: Collaborative: The Science and Applications of Crypto-Currency

加密货币和智能合约是新一波颠覆性技术，将塑造货币和金融交易的未来。如今，加密货币是一个价值数十亿美元的市场，数百家公司正在进入这个领域，并有望带来令人兴奋的新市场和生态系统。不幸的是，加密货币的使用超出了我们的理解。目前，大多数加密货币都依赖于启发式设计，而没有对必要的安全属性进行可靠的评估，也没有任何正式的基础来保证这些属性的实现。这项工作旨在为加密货币建立严格的科学基础。为了实现这一目标，这项工作融合了密码学，博弈论，编程语言和系统安全技术。预期成果包括具有可证明安全属性的新加密货币设计，在财务上可执行的加密协议，其安全属性由违约情况下的可执行支付支持，易于编程和正式验证的智能合约系统，以及用于存储和处理高价值加密货币和交易的高保证系统。该项目将为围绕当前数字货币革命的一些最困难和最重要的技术问题提供解决方案。研究人员将组织一个加密货币演讲系列，将技术专家、经济学家、社会科学家和政策制定者聚集在一起，促进合作，塑造数字货币的未来。

Crypto-currencies and smart contracts are a new wave of disruptive technology that will shape the future of money and financial transactions. Today, crypto-currencies are a billion-dollar market, and hundreds of companies are entering this space, promising exciting new markets and eco-systems. Unfortunately, usage of crypto-currencies outstrips our understanding. Currently most crypto currencies rely on heuristic designs without a solid appreciation of the necessary security properties, or any formal basis upon which strong assurance of such properties might be achieved.This work aims to establish a rigorous scientific foundation for crypto-currencies. To achieve this, this work blends cryptography, game theory, programming languages, and systems security techniques. Expected outcomes include new crypto-currency designs with provable security properties, financially enforceable cryptographic protocols whose security properties are backed by enforceable payments in case of a breach, smart contract systems that are easy to program and formally verifiable, as well as high-assurance systems for storing and handling high-value crypto-currencies and transactions. The project will provide solutions to some of the most difficult and important technical questions surrounding the current digital-money revolution. The investigators will organize a crypto-currency speaker series that will bring together technologists, economists, social scientists, and policy-makers to foster collaborations that will shape the future of digital currencies.