Michele Fabi, a postdoctoral fellow at CREST-École polytechnique has recently received the Award for the best paper presented at the International Fintech Research Conference, held at Parthenope University of Naples on 2-3 November 2023.

Michele Fabi

Michele Fabi is currently a post-doctoral researcher at CREST-Ecole polytechnique, serving as a member of the Blockchain and Platform Chair—a research initiative dedicated to blockchains and associated technologies.

Broadly speaking, Michele’s research fields are Financial Economics and Microeconomics, with a focus on topics such as fintech, platforms, decentralized and startup finance, blockchain, and the digitalization of money and markets. He is actively involved into a promoting research on these subjects by taking part in the organization of academic activities such as the BlockSem seminar and the Blockchain@X-OMI Workshop on Blockchain and Decentralized Finance.

Finally, Michele obtained his PhD in 2021 from the doctoral program IDEA-UAB (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona), working with Matthew Ellman as his advisor.

In 2023-2024, Michele is one of CREST’s International Job Market candidate.

2^nd International Fintech Research Conference

The International Fintech Research Conference is set to be a vibrant hub for researchers, encouraging cross-disciplinary discussions and collaborations in the expansive field of Fintech. Covering diverse areas, the conference welcomes contributions in theoretical analysis, machine learning applications, cryptocurrencies, cybersecurity, neural networks, smart contracts, and more.

With a focus on cutting-edge topics such as blockchain technologies, big data analysis, and behavioral finance, the event promises to be a dynamic platform for researchers to share insights, engage in discussions, and shape the future of finance and technology.

During this conference, the Organizing Committee establishes a prize for the best paper presented which was awarded, this year, to Michele Fabi for his paper “Blockchain Design with Transmission Delays”.

More information on the Conference: https://www.disaq.uniparthenope.it/fintechlab/international-fintech-research-conference/

Blockchain Design with Transmission Delays

The article investigates the economics of blockchain design. Unlike previous studies, this research introduces a strategic variable for miners: the ability to choose the size of transaction blocks. This departure from the assumption of maximum block capacity provides insights applicable to modern blockchains like Ethereum.

The study makes two key contributions. Firstly, it establishes testable predictions on block size and justifies transaction fees from the perspective of consensus layer incentives. This differs from earlier approaches that focused on application layer incentives. Secondly, the research addresses the limitations of a partial-equilibrium approach found in previous market microstructure papers. By endogenizing token inflation, the model can provide insights into the optimal balance between transaction fees and token inflation.

The paper builds upon prior works in the economics literature on blockchain and cryptocurrencies, pioneered by Chiu and Koeppl (2019) and Pagnotta (2022) among others, incorporating elements of the new monetarist matching models like Choi and Rocheteau (2020). It is also deeply inspired by the computer science literature on blockchain consensus and distributed algorithms (e.g. Pass and Shi, 2017; Ren, 2019), which lays out the methodological and conceptual foundations for the study of miner incentives.

In conclusion, the article sheds light on the economic challenges of blockchain designs, providing valuable insights for both researchers and practitioners in the blockchain space.

To read the full paper: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VWGl65Mbg5iCSVNWnW3IMZZ1IL4oJuEU/view