Public Lecture on the Future of the Token Economy by Shermin Voshmgir, Author of the Bestseller Token Economy

Shermin Voshmgir, author of the international bestseller Token Economy and founder of the organization Token Kitchen

A public lecture by Shermin Voshmgir – an internationally recognized expert, author of the world bestseller Token Economy and lecturer in the field of cryptoeconomics, token systems and Web3 - was held in the Ceremonial Hall of UNWE. She is the co-founder and former Director of the Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics at the Vienna University of Economics. She is also the founder of the Token Kitchen organization which deals with the practical design of token systems and governance models.

At the beginning of the lecture the Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov welcomed the attendees and greeted them for their interest in the event.

The Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov

"It is worth investing in knowledge and skills so that you can create the world around you", addressed to the students Prof. Dimitrov and added that the University always wants to be a leader in the technologies of the future. "The UNWE has opened two new Bachelor's degree specialties – Cryptoeconomics and Cybersecurity in Business in order to be able to keep up with the modern requirements of the dynamic labour market. We do all this for our students", emphasized the Rector.

"It is an honour for me to be here. My journey started 10 years ago and I am very happy to see how far we have come since then. In the beginning, there were no academic programmes, no specialized websites, almost no books on cryptocurrencies. There were only forums, videos and chats on the topic. It is wonderful that such academic programms are held", said Shermin Vošmgir.

Shermin Washmgir, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivaylo Beev, Head of the Economics Department, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Petar Peshev and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dimitar Damyanov – lecturers from the Department

The lecture was dedicated to the design of token systems, considered not only from a cryptoeconomic perspective, but also from a broader perspective, including economic, legal, political, and technological aspects.

"When I established the Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics in Vienna in 2018, the objective was to build a multidisciplinary structure with representatives from different faculties, as no one can solve this complex problem on their own", said the cryptoeconomics expert.

In her book Shermin Voshmgir presents an in-depth analysis of six real-world projects, through which she shows the challenges and lessons in designing token systems. It looks at Bitcoin by tracing the difference between the original intentions when it was created and the reality fifteen years later. She also analyzes MakerDAO, a decentralized stablecoin, and Helium, a decentralized telecommunications network. Also included are Ocean Protocol, designed for decentralized data exchange, as well as Steemit, a decentralized social network. Examples show both successful

After working in Vienna the author of Token Economy settled in Portugal where she lived in a small village. There she developed a project for tokenization of agricultural assets related to olive trees and their sustainability indicators. The initiative is implemented through her company, Token Kitchen, which is also responsible for publishing her books.

At the end of the lecture a lively discussion took place in which the students asked questions and Shermin Vošmgir answered in detail and encouraged the active communication with the audience.

Before the lecture Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov and part of the team of the Economics Department met with guest lecturer Shermin Voshmgir and exchanged information and ideas.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nikolay Velichkov, Deputy Head of the Economics Department, Gancho Yotov, founder of GO28, one of the three crypto exchanges, Chief Assist. Dr. Petkan Iliev, founder of the specialty Cryptoeconomics, Shermin Voshmgir, the Rector Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov, Assoc. Prof. Ivaylo Beev, Head of the Economics Department