A belated professional update: I’m delighted to share that I recently joined @Uniswap to lead research!

uniswap.org/

Here’s why I left the @federalreserve to dive into #DeFi
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Coming from a background in TradFi and CeFi, I’m most excited about the innovations that hold the potential for building a better, safer, more accessible financial system.
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At the Fed, I was amazed by how so much of the world economy relies on so few intermediaries, e.g. 24 primary dealers handle all of Treasury auctions, 8 U.S. GSIBs provide most of the dollar-based liquidity to the world, 1 single bank (BNY) settles all tri-party repos.
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When working well, these established financial juggernauts move trillions of dollars each day, but a combination of post-GFC balance sheet frictions and increased asset holdings have led to frequent hiccups in the current financial architecture.
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Even in the central arteries of the financial system, financial frictions are large. A case in point is periodic and sporadic funding rates spikes, with the largest one in Sept 2019 leading to an early end to the last round of Fed taper.
www.federalreserve.gov/econres/ifdp/u-s-banks-and-global-liquidity.htm
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Financial frictions are more than just market plumbing issues, so important that economists have created an entire subfield — intermediary asset pricing — to study frictions in intermediated finance.
www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.103.2.732
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How will web3/DeFi fix issues in legacy financial intermediation? In short, by making finance non-intermediated, composable, and more transparent. If there’s demand, I can write separate threads expanding on these ideas below.
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First, DeFi is transparent. Anyone can audit not only the smart contract code but also the entire history of transactions. This level of transparency fosters innovation and reduces risks in the long run.
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Second, web3 reduces the concentration of economic power and single points of failure. As a former FICC trader, I am still shocked at how often the largest rates markets were at the mercy of a handful of dealers.
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Third, web3 breaks down different boundaries to reduce segmentation and enable a truly efficient, global financial system.
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Fourth, the transparency of blockchain transactions can ultimately reduce the risk of money laundering and facilitate the safe movement and exchange of values globally.
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Building a safer, more inclusive, and efficient financial system requires joint efforts from technologists, economists, and policymakers. DM me if you are interested in research collaborations to shape the future of finance!
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