Faculty
Christian Catalini is the founder of the MIT Cryptoeconomics Lab, and a Research Scientist at the MIT Sloan School.
Christian is a also co-creator of Diem (formerly Libra), and the chief economist of the Diem Association.
Christian was previously the Theodore T. Miller Career Development Professor at MIT, and Associate Professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management at the MIT Sloan School.
Christian's research focuses on blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, and he previously worked on the economics of equity crowdfunding and startup growth, and the economics of scientific collaboration.
He holds a PhD from the University of Toronto (Rotman School of Management), and MSc (summa cum laude) in Economics and Management of New Technologies from Bocconi University, Milan.
His research has been featured in Nature, Science, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, WIRED, NPR, Forbes, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, VICE news and the Washington Post among others.
Christian has presented his work at a variety of institutions including Harvard University, MIT, Yale University, London Business School, New York University, UC Berkeley, Stanford University, the Federal Reserve Bank, the US Treasury, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the World Bank, the IMF, the White House OSTP, and a number of central banks and regulators.
Catalini, Christian, Alonso de Gortari, and Nihar Shah. Annual Review of Financial Economics Vol. 14, (2022): 117-135. Download Preprint.
Catalini, Christian, Wanyi Li, Alonso de Gortari, and Andrew Lilley, MIT Sloan Working Paper 6821-22. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, February 2022.
Roche, Maria P., Alexander Oettl, and Christian Catalini, Working Paper. February 2022.
Catalini, Christian, and Scott Kominers. TechREG Chronicle, February 2022.
Catalini, Christian, and Nihar Shah, MIT Sloan Working Paper 6820-21. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, November 2021.
Catalini, Christian, and Scott Duke Kominers. American Banker, October 22, 2021.
"In this piece, we highlight three fundamental costs that Web3 technology can potentially reduce."
We tend to overestimate how quickly technology can change our lives in the short term and underestimate how much in the long term.
Christian Catalini and Antoinette Schoar ... who have done extensive studies of the sector say the "digital gold" argument is overblown.
This course provides you with a balanced perspective of the crypto space. Over eight weeks, you’ll gain insights into the economics of blockchain technologies, including digital assets, stablecoins, DeFi, NFTs, and Web 3 applications. You’ll also learn about the future of blockchain technology and the possibilities that lie ahead in the crypto space — from finance to the metaverse.
This online program draws on the work of leading MIT faculty and cryptoeconomics expert, Professor Christian Catalini, to examine blockchain technology from an economic perspective. You’ll be offered a foundational overview of how blockchain technology works, in order to demystify the technology and to understand its possibilities and limitations. Over the course of six weeks, you’ll be guided to understand blockchain technology beyond the fundamentals, and to appreciate its application and promise in the context of your own organization.
