Prysm Group Adds Nobel Prize-Winning Economist and Former Microsoft Chief Economist to Board of Senior Advisors

Prysm Group, the leading blockchain economics and governance design firm, has announced the appointment of two award-winning economists, Prof. Oliver Hart and Dr. Preston McAfee, to its Board of Senior Advisors. Founded by Harvard-trained, PhD-level economists Dr. Cathy Barrera and Dr. Stephanie Hurder, Prysm Group provides blockchain organizations with counsel in the complex economic fields of contract theory, market design, game theory, and social choice.

Prof. Hart, currently the Andrew E. Furer Professor of Economics at Harvard University, was awarded the 2016 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on contract theory and his fundamental contributions to the theory of incomplete contracts. Dr. McAfee served as the Chief Economist at Microsoft from 2014 until earlier this year, and previously led research teams at Google and at Yahoo!, where he was also Chief Economist from 2007 to 2012. He won the prestigious Golden Goose Award in 2014 for his research on auction design, and has dedicated much of his career to exploring the intersection of microeconomics and computer science.

Prysm Group Co-founder Dr. Stephanie Hurder said: “With the addition of two such distinguished economists to our advisory board, we will be able to bolster our unique position in the market as trailblazers of cryptoeconomics. When it comes to decentralized systems, value is created using incentives and market structures, as opposed to traditional management and organizational systems, and that is our key differentiator when helping blockchain organizations deliver favorable results. With Prof. Hart and Dr. McAfee on board, Prysm Group gains the world’s leading experts in incentive and market design.”

Prof. Hart, Senior Advisor, Prysm Group, said: “The issues of property rights and contractual incompleteness are extremely important in the context of blockchain, where developers are attempting to replace some mechanisms and institutions, such as decision-making by an authority, with code. It’s important for those who are creating blockchain-based platforms to understand the possible complications that might arise from doing that, so that they can design better systems that are more likely to accomplish their objectives.”

Dr. McAfee, Senior Advisor, Prysm Group, said: “Blockchain technology provides the opportunity for significant innovations in decentralized exchanges. In order for such platforms to deliver on their potential, the founders must ensure that all the various governing systems — such as contract enforcement, dispute resolution, policing, infrastructure, education, property rights, medium of exchange, taxes, and subsidies — are aligned and yield the intended incentives.”

Prysm Group Co-founder Dr. Barrera said: “Through client engagements as well as our educational and research initiatives, we aim to set the standards by which the economic structures of decentralized digital systems are designed. The launch of our Board of Senior Advisors and the participation of economists of this calibre will accelerate Prysm Group toward that goal.”