Trust is the most important thing that we hardly ever think about. Until it's not there. Then it becomes the only thing we think about. Without it our civil society unravels. Trust allows different kinds of people from anywhere to interact with each other. If we all trust the same money, then we can do business together. When we trust a financial system, we can save, borrow, invest, and send and receive money smoothly. Trustworthy online platforms expand our world through marketplaces, social interactions, gig workers, and more. Throughout history the belief in trust has been codified by rules, regulations, and laws. The challenge with trust, though, is that it eventually becomes corroded – through malice, greed, and, quite often, apathy. History is littered with the carcasses of once trusty solutions that fell by the wayside. Today, trust in the most basic and important functions – money, markets, and platforms – is at an all-time low. Currencies are rife with inflation, financial firms require ever bigger bailouts, social media algorithms radicalize our friends, and politicians sell out to special interests. We can point blame in many directions, make more rules to combat the ills, but it will fail – just as such efforts have failed throughout history. Technology has long played an important role both in the evolution of trust and its undoing, especially during periods of historic change, like now. Much of the technology that we dependend on is breaking bad due to misaligned incentives and poor design. But thankfully a newer, more sophisticated, technology can be used to restore trust in our most important interactions and return power and profits back to the people that money, markets, and platforms were meant to serve without censorship or surveillance. Re-Architecting Trust is a thought-provoking exploration of how decentralized blockchain networks and the digital assets that they enable can reinvent our most important trust frameworks by creating new types of money, reinvigorating how we transact the old kind, disintermediating the least trustworthy financial institutions, and enabling meaningful business models for artists and influencers. Omid Malekan, who has studied cryptocurrencies and blockchain for almost a decade, explains how the mishmash of technologies that enable Bitcoin can be applied to everything that matters to level the playing field, preserve your purchasing power, expand everyone's access to financial services, enable brand new business models and elevate new communities in an ever fracturing society. Known as the Explainer-in-Chief of crypto, Malekan has a unique ability to make complicated topics accessible to anyone. In Re-Architecting Trust he provides the reader with a guided tour of how money, markets, and platforms have evolved, where things have gone off the rails, and how we can restore integrity. No pie-in-the-sky fantasy, Malekan paints a compelling picture of where we are headed and how you can be a part of it
PRAISE FOR RE-ARCHITECTING TRUST
"You must read Omid. He is the best person to agree and disagree with on the subject of cryptos. You learn both ways and enjoy the argumentation in the process."
Nassim Nicholas Taleb Author, The Black Swan
“Omid is a gifted storyteller, and in Re-Architecting Trust he uses a series of analogies and historical anecdotes to help the reader understand a complex topic. This book is important to prepare for the coming transformation to everything from money to the business models of artists and creators."
Bill Block, CEO of Miramax
"I am cryptocurrency skeptic, but I found this book fascinating. Very well written, accessible, interesting and shining new light on the oldest thing in the world - money."
Vitaliy Katsenelson Author, Soul in the Game
"Omid Malekan's Re-Architecting Trust is a well-warranted introduction to this domain, with the jargon stripped away and the theoretical underpinnings laid bare. Neither excessively utopian nor overly skeptical, Malekan is a balanced and thoughtful guide to this new frontier. His book is a profound contribution to the crypto literature."
Nic Carter Partner, Castle Island Ventures & Co-founder, Coin Metrics
"Omid Malekan is my go-to source for all things crypto. This industry changes daily, but Omid always knows the latest and has good insight into what comes next. This book is THE resource I use to get a handle on the complexity of this revolution."
James Altucher
“Omid continues to demonstrate his unique ability to synthesize the complexities of crypto in a clear and inviting way. This book provides the basis for appreciating the philosophical underpinnings of this still-developing frontier and why the old playbook will not serve the new world.”
Michael Moro, CEO of Genesis Global Trading