This week’s Retired Men’s Association speaker is Dr. David Yermack will explain the latest developments in the rapidly expanding field of cryptocurrencies.
In a January 2022 talk to the RMA, Dr. Yermack explained the concept of decentralized digital currencies. Bitcoin, blockchain, tokens and other terms have entered the lexicon but are still not fully understood by most people. Since then, many new forms of cryptocurrency (such as the “stablecoin”) have been introduced and appear to be spreading, without regulation, mostly in commercial settings but with overtures for introduction at government level.
Among the many controversies and issues are crime and illicit use (money laundering, scams, frauds), regulatory and legal challenges, weak oversight, risks to consumers and investors (not backed by governments or central banks), privacy and security concerns (hacking, theft of personal information), environmental impact (huge energy requirements), and political and ethical issues (no public accountability or governance). Dr. Yermack will provide his expert perspective on these challenges and the potential for cryptocurrency to enter the mainstream.
David Yermack is the Albert Fingerhut Professor of Finance and Business Transformation and former Chairman of the Finance Department at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He has been a member of the faculty since 1994, teaching a full semester course on cryptocurrency with his Law School colleague Prof. Geoffrey Miller. Professor Yermack holds AB, MBA, JD, AM and PhD degrees, all from Harvard.
In addition to his research on cryptocurrencies, he has published widely cited papers on such diverse topics as executive compensation and corporate governance, options in baseball player contracts, incentive compensation for clergymen, tobacco litigation, fraudulent charitable contributions, CEO mansions, and the fashion industry.
He is a frequent speaker on cryptocurrency to many audiences.
Our next speaker, on August 13, will be Prof. Nelson Tebbe, Cornell Law School, “2025 Update on Constitutional Law at the Supreme Court” The Greenwich Retired Men’s Association offers a free program every Wednesday that is open to the public, both men and women; no reservations are required.
The RMA’s social break starts at 10:40 am followed promptly by the presentation at 11:00 am.