Coinbase Institute

Primers & White Papers

Demystifying key topics in the evolving crypto landscape through rigorous research and analysis.

Primer on Tax and DeFi

Decentralized Finance, or “DeFi,” offers an innovative way of conducting finance peer to peer. But these innovations make it difficult to tax DeFi transactions. The use of an optional “tax identity” attestation token that facilitates collection of a transaction tax is one potential solution.

August 22, 2023

Primer: Decentralized Social Media

Decentralized social media offers a new model of social networking that embraces the web3 vision of a user-owned internet. By leveraging crypto and blockchain technology, these networks have the potential to increase privacy, freedom of expression, and user autonomy on-chain.

July 19, 2023

Primer on Decentralized Apps

Decentralized apps offer financial services, games, art, and more, but most are built on blockchains, use open-source code, and are controlled by smart contracts—not big tech. By empowering and rewarding users, dapps can spur innovation in web3.

April 25, 2023

Defending American Leadership: The National Security Case for Crypto and Blockchain

With countries around the world embracing crypto and blockchain technology, the U.S. stands at a critical juncture. In this white paper, the Coinbase Institute explores how the U.S. commitment to fostering technological innovation has powered its global leadership over the past century, and why it is crucial that the U.S. take the same approach with crypto.

April 21, 2023

Decentralized Identity

Decentralized identity can bring more privacy, control, and security to online identities. This primer discusses the tangible benefits it can offer to individuals and institutions alike.

April 5, 2023

Crypto Innovation is Essential to Curtailing Illicit Finance

The Coinbase Institute explores the use of digital asset technology to track and combat illicit finance, and advocates for increased public-private collaboration to facilitate its use.

January 19, 2023

National Security in the Age of Digital Innovation: The Critical Role of Crypto

Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad explains why adopting a strong policy toward crypto and Web3 is an essential component of every country's national security strategy.

January 9, 2023

Tornado Cash, OFAC and a Whirlwind of Confusion

Crypto privacy protocols and tools have become an essential part of the ecosystem. The Coinbase Institute breaks down what Tornado Cash is and is not – and explains why regulators, policymakers and law enforcement should take a measured approach.

December 23, 2022

Stablecoins White Paper

This white paper explains what stablecoins are and how stablecoin arrangements work.

July 28, 2022

Crypto & Remittances

This primer explains how crypto transfers can disrupt traditional remittance methods.

June 30, 2022

Crypto and the Climate

This primer assesses the current state of crypto and the climate.

May 18, 2022

Whitepaper: DeFi and Tax Reporting & Withholding

Coinbase recommends the use of identity tokens and some form of transaction tax to overcome current challenges in applying tax to DeFi transactions.

February 28, 2022

Whitepaper: NFTs and Indirect Taxes

Coinbase advocates for the creation of identity tokens and enhanced smart contracts to enable effective collection and remittance of taxes for NFT transactions on decentralized platforms.

February 28, 2022

Whitepaper: US Taxation of Cryptocurrencies

Coinbase calls for a digital asset task force consisting of Treasury, IRS, and external industry experts to clarify the application of U.S. tax law to cryptocurrencies.

December 31, 2021

Coinbase’s Digital Asset Policy Proposal (dApp)

Our proposal for how the United States should regulate digital assets.

October 14, 2021

Research & Data

Timely perspectives on influential trends and dynamics in the cryptoeconomy rooted in data-driven research and insights.

The State of Crypto: Corporate Adoption

This research covers the adoption of crypto, blockchain, and web3 initiatives among the largest US corporations via an analysis of blockchain activity among Fortune 100 companies and a survey of Fortune 500 executives.

June 22, 2023

International Survey of Web3 Adoption

In order to track adoption and awareness of Web3 globally, the Coinbase Institute surveyed more than 32,000 people with internet access from 16 countries. This report analyzes the results and discusses crypto familiarity across the surveyed regions.

April 28, 2023

Degrees of Decentralization in DAOs

Are Decentralized Autonomous Organizations really decentralized? And should they be?

November 28, 2022

Australia’s Digital Economy

An overview of the opportunities created by Web3 in Australia, in collaboration with RMIT.

October 4, 2022

Evaluation of Systemic Risk in Crypto

Crypto does not yet pose a systemic risk, but challenges and benefits must be carefully considered by policymakers. This report evaluates systemic risk in crypto, and explores how crypto can mitigate some of the risks present in traditional finance today.

August 31, 2022