Perry World House, 3803 Locust Walk
In-person only: Please register here.

A panel discussion with JANE KHODARKOVSKY (Celo General Counsel) and MICHAEL MCCARTHY (Marquette University), moderated by RISHIN SHARMA (Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance, U. Penn).

GIVEN THAT WEALTH INEQUALITY IS DRIVEN IN LARGE PART by the difference in the rewards that go to wage workers vs. investors, democratizing finance so that more of the public can reap those rewards – and, even more importantly, have a meaningful say in investment decisions – can arguably help create a more just society. Emerging technologies, from blockchain and cryptocurrency to meme stocks and NFTs, seem to offer paths to this wider participation in finance. Particularly in light of the recent collapse of FTX, our panelists lay out the promise of such technologies, but also grapple with the risk, in the absence of other reforms, that they may merely increase the number of bad bets for the masses, while allowing existing inequalities to reproduce themselves.