Topic Proposals Master Thesis
- Smart Contracts: A Risk Analysis Framework [Programming]
Survey potential smart contract attack vectors. Show example contracts and step by step walkthroughs to analyze the vulnerabilities. Get data from prominent hacks, e.g. "the DAO" or "Parity" and show what happened there on a technical and empirical level.
- Smart Financial Instruments [Finance / Programming]
Pick an existing financial instrument and replicate it through on-/off-chain contracts.
- Decentralized Exchanges and Frontrunning [Econometrics / Finance]
Collect the publicly available data of various decentralized exchanges and try to estimate the issue of frontrunning.
- Fintech in Switzerland: Data Collection and Empirical Analysis [Business / Econometrics / Finance]
Collect quantitative and qualitative data on Fintech startups in Switzerland (e.g. panel including FTEs, funding, revenue, sector, canton, board members, advisors, management etc.). Combine this data with publicly accessible data sources and perform some empirical analysis.
- Libra [Business / Economics]
Analyze the effects Facebook's Libra proposal may have on the world economy. I expect a theoretical analysis based on the economic literature on private money, as well as a technical analysis based on the Libra papers and implementation.
- Asset Management on Blockchain - The Melon Protocol [Economics / Finance / Programming]
Melon is a protocol for on-chain asset management, using the Ethereum Blockchain. Analyze the Melon Protocol. Obtain data and perform an analysis how this protocol is used.
- Technology Management [Business]
Create a survey of the most influential technology management papers. Describe and analyze the papers and write your own meta study.
- The Business Blockchain in a Suitcase [Business / Programming]
Setup a mobile version of a private Ethereum business network. Fit everything in a suitcase. Specifications: at least three nodes on mini computers (e.g. raspberry pi 3b+), Use ganache and deploy a simple smart contract on the network for demonstation purposes. It is expected that you (a) build the suitcase, (b) document everything in your thesis and (c) develop a demo smart contract that serves a business purpose. I will cover the hardware cost.
- State Channels: Beyond the Micropayment Use-Case [Business / Programming]
Analyze how state channels can be used for off-chain contracts beyond the monetary use-case. You should provide a technical analysis, some simple examples and potential use-cases in the business context.
- Consensus Protocols: A Game Theoretical Analysis [Economics]
Create a mathematical model that allows to show the differences between Proof-of-work, proof-of-stake and proof-of-authority in terms of efficiency and security.
- An Analysis of the Video Game Market Using Ebay Auction Data [Economics / Econometrics]
Collect ebay data on retro video games, e.g. Super Nintendo or N64, including but not limited to prices, timestamp, bids, condition etc. Then analyze the data and describe the market for video games.
- Starcraft Economics [Economics / Computational Economics]
"Star Craft II" is one of the most competitive computer games. It is widely known for its complex resource management, decision making and the importance of managing your own economy. Obtain data from in-game statistics and videos of professional players, compute the ideal build orders and create models that show how early decisions may influence the players' resource income and how specific strategies can be countered. In other words, be creative and apply your economics skills to come up with interesting findings.
