Raghavendra Rau is the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance at the Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK, and a co-founder and director of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), a research group studying new instruments and channels of finance emerging outside of the regulated banking system. He has taught at a number of universities around the world, including Université Paris Dauphine, University of Luxembourg, Sciences PO, Indian School of Business, Purdue University, University of California at Los Angeles, and most recently, the University of California at Berkeley. Raghavendra was previously Principal at Barclays Global Investors in San Francisco from 2008-2009. He is a former President of the European Finance Association, and a former editor of Financial Management. Robert Wardrop is a Professor in Management Practice at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, UK, and the director of the Cambridge Centre of Alternative Finance. He is an economic sociologist interested in the development of channels and instruments of finance emerging outside of the incumbent financial system and the impact of these developments on market practices and regulatory change. He is the Academic Programme Director of the CCAF’s Cambridge Fintech and Regulatory Innovation online programme which has enrolled financial services regulators in more than 100 countries.Luigi Zingales is the McCormack Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, USA and director of the Stigler Center. In 2014 he was President of the American Finance Association. His research interests span from corporate governance to financial development, from political economy to the economic effects of culture. According to SSRN, he is the tenth most-cited author in the social sciences. His research on capitalism is summarized in two widely acclaimed books: Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists (2003, with Raghu Rajan) and A Capitalism for the People (2012). Zingales also co-hosts the podcast Capitalisn’t.

• Chapter 1. An Overview of Technologically Enabled Finance.- Chapter 2. Innovations in Alternative Finance in Historical Perspective.- Chapter 3. A Layman’s Guide to Bitcoin and Blockchain.- Chapter 4. An Introduction to Cryptocurrencies.- Chapter 5. The Role of Utopia in the Workings of Local and Cryptocurrencies.- Chapter 6. Digital Currencies and Central Banks.- Chapter 7. Cryptocurrencies: Regulatory Perspectives and Implications for Investors.- Chapter 8. Fintech Revolutionizing Financial Services: The Case of Virtual Savings and Credit Supply Technological Platforms in Africa.- Chapter 9. What Does Digital Money Mean for Emerging Market and Developing Economies?- Chapter 10. Blockchain and Other Distributed Ledger Technologies in Finance.- Chapter 11. Consensus Mechanisms for the Blockchain.- Chapter 12. Multi-Stakeholder Governance in the Era of Decentralized Finance.- Chapter 13. Law and Blockchains.- Chapter 14. Blockchain Trading and Exchange.- Chapter 15. Initial Coin Offerings: Current Research and Future Directions.- Chapter 16. How Wise Are Crowds on Crowdfunding Platforms?- Chapter 17. Asymmetric Information at the Platform Level: The Case of Peer-to-Peer Lending.- Chapter 18. Equity Crowdfunding and Capital Formation for Early-Stage Firms.- Chapter 19. Growing Pains: The Changing Regulation of Alternative Lending Platforms.- Chapter 20. Regulating Equity Crowdfunding: Lessons From International Practice.- Chapter 21. The Use of Psychometrics and Artificial Intelligence in Alternative Finance.- Chapter 22. Neural Networks and Deep Learning: A Paradigm Shift in Information Processing, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.- Chapter 23. Use of Big Data in Developing Markets.- Chapter 24. Use of Big Data in Insurance.- Chapter 25. Technology and Working Capital Finance.- Chapter 26. Robo-Advising.- Chapter 27. Implementation of Open Banking Protocols Around the World.- Chapter 28. Technological Innovation and Discrimination in Household Finance.- Chapter 29. Trust Building and Credit Reporting With Big Data in the Digital Age.- Chapter 30. Digital Identity in India.- Chapter 31. Big Techs in Finance: On the New Nexus Between Data Privacy and Competition

Raghavendra Rau is the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance at the Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK, and a co-founder and director of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), a research group studying new instruments and channels of finance emerging outside of the regulated banking system. He has taught at a number of universities around the world, including Université Paris Dauphine, University of Luxembourg, Sciences PO, Indian School of Business, Purdue University, University of California at Los Angeles, and most recently, the University of California at Berkeley. Raghavendra was previously Principal at Barclays Global Investors in San Francisco from 2008-2009. He is a former President of the European Finance Association, and a former editor of Financial Management. Robert Wardrop is a Professor in Management Practice at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, UK, and the director of the Cambridge Centre of Alternative Finance. He is an economic sociologist interested in the development of channels and instruments of finance emerging outside of the incumbent financial system and the impact of these developments on market practices and regulatory change. He is the Academic Programme Director of the CCAF’s Cambridge Fintech and Regulatory Innovation online programme which has enrolled financial services regulators in more than 100 countries.Luigi Zingales is the McCormack Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, USA and director of the Stigler Center. In 2014 he was President of the American Finance Association. His research interests span from corporate governance to financial development, from political economy to the economic effects of culture. According to SSRN, he is the tenth most-cited author in the social sciences. His research on capitalism is summarized in two widely acclaimed books: Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists (2003, with Raghu Rajan) and A Capitalism for the People (2012). Zingales also co-hosts the podcast Capitalisn’t.

• Chapter 1. An Overview of Technologically Enabled Finance.- Chapter 2. Innovations in Alternative Finance in Historical Perspective.- Chapter 3. A Layman’s Guide to Bitcoin and Blockchain.- Chapter 4. An Introduction to Cryptocurrencies.- Chapter 5. The Role of Utopia in the Workings of Local and Cryptocurrencies.- Chapter 6. Digital Currencies and Central Banks.- Chapter 7. Cryptocurrencies: Regulatory Perspectives and Implications for Investors.- Chapter 8. Fintech Revolutionizing Financial Services: The Case of Virtual Savings and Credit Supply Technological Platforms in Africa.- Chapter 9. What Does Digital Money Mean for Emerging Market and Developing Economies?- Chapter 10. Blockchain and Other Distributed Ledger Technologies in Finance.- Chapter 11. Consensus Mechanisms for the Blockchain.- Chapter 12. Multi-Stakeholder Governance in the Era of Decentralized Finance.- Chapter 13. Law and Blockchains.- Chapter 14. Blockchain Trading and Exchange.- Chapter 15. Initial Coin Offerings: Current Research and Future Directions.- Chapter 16. How Wise Are Crowds on Crowdfunding Platforms?- Chapter 17. Asymmetric Information at the Platform Level: The Case of Peer-to-Peer Lending.- Chapter 18. Equity Crowdfunding and Capital Formation for Early-Stage Firms.- Chapter 19. Growing Pains: The Changing Regulation of Alternative Lending Platforms.- Chapter 20. Regulating Equity Crowdfunding: Lessons From International Practice.- Chapter 21. The Use of Psychometrics and Artificial Intelligence in Alternative Finance.- Chapter 22. Neural Networks and Deep Learning: A Paradigm Shift in Information Processing, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.- Chapter 23. Use of Big Data in Developing Markets.- Chapter 24. Use of Big Data in Insurance.- Chapter 25. Technology and Working Capital Finance.- Chapter 26. Robo-Advising.- Chapter 27. Implementation of Open Banking Protocols Around the World.- Chapter 28. Technological Innovation and Discrimination in Household Finance.- Chapter 29. Trust Building and Credit Reporting With Big Data in the Digital Age.- Chapter 30. Digital Identity in India.- Chapter 31. Big Techs in Finance: On the New Nexus Between Data Privacy and Competition

Raghavendra Rau is the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance at the Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK, and a co-founder and director of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), a research group studying new instruments and channels of finance emerging outside of the regulated banking system. He has taught at a number of universities around the world, including Université Paris Dauphine, University of Luxembourg, Sciences PO, Indian School of Business, Purdue University, University of California at Los Angeles, and most recently, the University of California at Berkeley. Raghavendra was previously Principal at Barclays Global Investors in San Francisco from 2008-2009. He is a former President of the European Finance Association, and a former editor of Financial Management. Robert Wardrop is a Professor in Management Practice at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, UK, and the director of the Cambridge Centre of Alternative Finance. He is an economic sociologist interested in the development of channels and instruments of finance emerging outside of the incumbent financial system and the impact of these developments on market practices and regulatory change. He is the Academic Programme Director of the CCAF’s Cambridge Fintech and Regulatory Innovation online programme which has enrolled financial services regulators in more than 100 countries.Luigi Zingales is the McCormack Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, USA and director of the Stigler Center. In 2014 he was President of the American Finance Association. His research interests span from corporate governance to financial development, from political economy to the economic effects of culture. According to SSRN, he is the tenth most-cited author in the social sciences. His research on capitalism is summarized in two widely acclaimed books: Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists (2003, with Raghu Rajan) and A Capitalism for the People (2012). Zingales also co-hosts the podcast Capitalisn’t.

• Chapter 1. An Overview of Technologically Enabled Finance.- Chapter 2. Innovations in Alternative Finance in Historical Perspective.- Chapter 3. A Layman’s Guide to Bitcoin and Blockchain.- Chapter 4. An Introduction to Cryptocurrencies.- Chapter 5. The Role of Utopia in the Workings of Local and Cryptocurrencies.- Chapter 6. Digital Currencies and Central Banks.- Chapter 7. Cryptocurrencies: Regulatory Perspectives and Implications for Investors.- Chapter 8. Fintech Revolutionizing Financial Services: The Case of Virtual Savings and Credit Supply Technological Platforms in Africa.- Chapter 9. What Does Digital Money Mean for Emerging Market and Developing Economies?- Chapter 10. Blockchain and Other Distributed Ledger Technologies in Finance.- Chapter 11. Consensus Mechanisms for the Blockchain.- Chapter 12. Multi-Stakeholder Governance in the Era of Decentralized Finance.- Chapter 13. Law and Blockchains.- Chapter 14. Blockchain Trading and Exchange.- Chapter 15. Initial Coin Offerings: Current Research and Future Directions.- Chapter 16. How Wise Are Crowds on Crowdfunding Platforms?- Chapter 17. Asymmetric Information at the Platform Level: The Case of Peer-to-Peer Lending.- Chapter 18. Equity Crowdfunding and Capital Formation for Early-Stage Firms.- Chapter 19. Growing Pains: The Changing Regulation of Alternative Lending Platforms.- Chapter 20. Regulating Equity Crowdfunding: Lessons From International Practice.- Chapter 21. The Use of Psychometrics and Artificial Intelligence in Alternative Finance.- Chapter 22. Neural Networks and Deep Learning: A Paradigm Shift in Information Processing, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.- Chapter 23. Use of Big Data in Developing Markets.- Chapter 24. Use of Big Data in Insurance.- Chapter 25. Technology and Working Capital Finance.- Chapter 26. Robo-Advising.- Chapter 27. Implementation of Open Banking Protocols Around the World.- Chapter 28. Technological Innovation and Discrimination in Household Finance.- Chapter 29. Trust Building and Credit Reporting With Big Data in the Digital Age.- Chapter 30. Digital Identity in India.- Chapter 31. Big Techs in Finance: On the New Nexus Between Data Privacy and Competition