Coinbase launches new global crypto think-tank

Leading cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase has launched a new Coinbase Institute to advance policy debate around crypto and the future of Web3. 

The institute is focused on providing research, analysis, and insights about the Web3 space.

According to the official Coinbase website, the institute is designed to bring together leaders across a range of subjects to “fuel progress on decentralization, web3, and the future of finance”. 

It is centered around four key pillars which include: conducting and publishing research, hosting collaborative discussions with experts, foraging partnerships with institutions, and advancing public knowledge of crypto and Web3. 

New research reports

As part of the launch, they have published a new report titled ‘Crypto and the Climate’. This report details how crypto uses energy and assesses cryptos energy usage and the carbon footprint of cryptocurrencies. 

The newly announced institute has also published its first monthly insights report that compares crypto risk with traditional market risk. It focuses on volatility and correlation with the overall market. The report finds Bitcoin and Ethereum have similar volatility to commodities such as oil and gas.

Coinbase also announced a partnership with the University of Michigan as part of the initiative.

The institute advisory board has representatives from leading academic research departments, including the MIT Cryptoeconomics Lab, MIT Sloan School, Harvard Business School, National Bureau of Economic Research, University of Michigan, European Corporate Governance Institute,  Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business, and Duke University Fuqua School of Business.  

As a former SEC and State Department worker, the Head of Policy at Coinbase, Hermine Wong is leading this initiative with her team at Coinbase.

Coinbase is one of the leading companies alongside Block, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Andressen Horowitz that came together to create the Crypto Council for Innovation, a global alliance to raise awareness of the benefits of cryptocurrencies.