The Decentralized and Automated Economy: A research roadmap for the medium-term future

This working paper sets a research agenda for the decentralized and automated economy drawing on a roundtable event organized by CREATe. The event gathered diverse stakeholders to identify key open issues that are likely to become pressing and crucial in regulating and navigating markets based on AI and decentralized technologies. Topics include trust and governance in decentralized finance (DeFi), the rise of private money (e.g., stablecoins), regulatory fragmentation, AI governance, and manipulative AI-driven design (dark patterns). The insights offered herein reflect a synthesis of stakeholders’ collective contributions, which represent different interests, industries, and backgrounds.