Way before bellhops got into Bitcoin RMIT researchers were researching and developing the transformative power of the blockchain

Melbourne firm AEM launched accounting software for crypto-currency the other day and thanked the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub for “access to research and academics, providing internships and industry experience for students and ultimately employment for a number of students.”

This has to score points for RMIT with the National Priorities and Industry Linkage Fund (insofar as anybody is across how it works, (CMM October 2).

But there is way more to what RMIT has achieved. The Blockchain Hub demonstrates how basic research works with industry – the government’s core objective for university links with business.

RMIT economist Jason Potts, with colleagues from RMIT and Curtin U, recognised five years back how research published on a blockchain can could replace journals (CMM April 26 2016).

With Chris Berg and Sinclair Davidson (also RMIT) he scaled-up the suggestion in 2017, arguing the blockchain could go aways to reduce the role of government, now needed for “record keeping, validation and verification of transactions in property rights,” (CMM October 30 2017).

The trio pulled their big ideas together in their book, Understanding the Blockchain Economy: an introduction to institutional crypto economics (CMM September 6 2019).

The research rolls on and so does teaching and industry partnerships. Nothing crypto about the intellectual currency of this work.